Principals » Carol J. Carter

What Traditional Academics Can Learn From a Futurist’s University

CAROLâ€™S SUMMARY:

Singularity University, founded by futurists Ray Kurzweil and Peter H. Diamandis, forward-looking thinkers who share ideas about where technology is headed in the near future and in the long term, is designed to study technologies that are manifesting exponential change. The first ever nine-week session was held last summer and cost $25,000 per student. The course was divided into three parts: In the first three weeks, students attended lectures by experts from business and academe. Over the next three weeks, students each chose one of four areas to research. And the final three weeks, students worked in groups on global challenges that aimed to help at least a billion people around the world.

The article below cites that more than 1,200 students applied to fill the 40 slots, making the program more selective than Harvard University. James A. Dator, director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, at the University of Hawaii-Manoa says Singularity University is an example of the rise in interest in futurology with courses offered at Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, Maryland), the University of Notre Dame and San Diego City College.

The article also mentions that higher education has experienced relatively small changes: “Compared to most other markets, higher education in particular really hasn’t felt the earthquake,” says Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster who is a consulting professor at Stanford University, and chair of the futures-studies track of Singularity University. More â€œfutures studiesâ€ at the university level would require better preparation of high schools students. LifeBound’s new book, Critical and Creative Thinking for Teenagers sparks innovative thinking, is cross-disciplinary by examining critical and creative thinking through various lenses and promotes media and technology skills. Such a curriculum would equip todayâ€™s high school students with the skills necessary to brainstorm and tackle the worldâ€™s greatest problems. For more information about this resource visit www.lifebound.com.

What steps can higher education take to embrace the technological strides over the last 50 years?

How can we promote critical and creative thinking in the classroom via technologies?

How can â€œfutures studiesâ€ enhance 21st century skills among todayâ€™s students?

ARTICLE:

The Chronicle of Higher Education
September 14, 2009
What Traditional Academics Can Learn From a Futurist’s University
By Jeffrey R. Young
Moffett Field, Calif.

“We’re going to be unapologetically interdisciplinary,” said Neil Jacobstein, chairman of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, during one of the first lectures at Singularity University. “That’s not because it’s fashionable, or because the faculty took a vote, but because nature has no departments.”

The students burst into applause.

That dig against traditional institutions was par for the course at the unusual new high-tech university, which wrapped up its first nine-week session at NASA’s Ames Research Center here last month. Students were asked to come up with technological projects that would help at least a billion people around the world, reflecting the techno-utopian vision of the institution’s founders.

To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com

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Duncan Urges Colleges to Help Underperforming Schools More

CAROLâ€™S SUMMARY: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former chief executive of Chicago Public Schools before joining President Obamaâ€™s administration, delivered a keynote speech at an education forum to encourage other colleges and universities to follow the University of Chicagoâ€™s example by taking districts under their wings. Specifically, he charged universities to â€œestablish their own charter schools, develop better research methods to track the results of efforts to improve schools’ performance and provide more hands-on training and support for teachers.â€ By working together school districts improve their graduation rates and universities promote higher education and career training. While Timothy Knowles, Director the Urban Education Institute admits, “Not every university in the country should own and operate a public school,” every university can involve themselves in education reform by coming alongside struggling schools.

Academic coaching, with its emphasis on asking powerful questions, can help equip teachers with the tools for creating dynamic classrooms and becoming leaders in their districts. Many student success programs operate at both the high school and college level and collaboration could serve as an iron sharpens iron proposition. If teachers and professors attended academic coaches training together itâ€™s possible that bonds would form in the spirit of cooperation and common good that might withstand the high turnover of school district administrations.
Could your district benefit from academic coaching?

What specific steps can school districts and universities to band together to improve our nationâ€™s educational system?

Who is ultimately responsible for education reform and how might student success and transition programs be at the center of this reform?

ARTICLE:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
September 10, 2009
Duncan Urges Colleges to Help Underperforming Schools More
By Libby Nelson
Washington

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged universities on Thursday to get more involved in helping to improve underperforming schools, by forming partnerships with local school districts, establishing charter schools, and improving teacher education.

In a keynote address at an education forum presented here by the University of Chicago, Mr. Duncan pointed to that institution’s charter schools as an example and praised the university for not being an “ivory tower in the middle of the city.”

To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com

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Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates

CAROLâ€™S SUMMARY: In the United States only half of students who enroll in college end up with a bachelorâ€™s degree. Italy is the only rich country with a worse college graduation rate. In a new book titled, â€œCrossing the Finish Line,â€ authors William Bowen (an economist and former Princeton president) and Michael McPherson (an economist and former Macalester College president) analyze the data of about 200,000 students at 68 colleges.

Although the bookâ€™s statistics are alarming, there is hope. Instead of requiring a total overhaul of todayâ€™s educational system, McPherson and Bowen suggest large strides can be made if institutions shift their focus from enrollment to completion and become accountable for their failures. The first problem â€œCrossing the Finish Lineâ€ identifies is under-matching. According to the article below, under-matching refers to â€œstudents who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one thatâ€™s closer to home or, given the torturous financial aid process, less expensive.â€ To combat this, the Obama Education Department now informs students of the graduation rate at any college in which they express interest when they fill out an online form for federal financial aid.
College graduation is important to career success. According to the Labor Department, last year workers with bachelorâ€™s degrees made 54 percent more on average than those who attended college but didnâ€™t finish. When people, especially students fresh out of college, enter the workforce and contribute to society, everyone benefits.

What can high schools do to prevent students from under-matching themselves with colleges?

How can colleges and universities shift their focus from enrollment to completion and balance these efforts on both fronts?

In addition to implementing student success and transition programs at the high school level, what else can we do to improve our nationâ€™s college graduation rates at public institutions?

ARTICLE:
September 9, 2009
Economic Scene
The New York Times
Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates
By DAVID LEONHARDT

If you were going to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, youâ€™d probably have to start with the Wall Street firms and regulatory agencies that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to Wall Streetâ€™s fellow bailout recipients in Detroit, the once-Big Three.

But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public universities.

At its top levels, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission â€” turning teenagers into educated college graduates â€” much of the system is simply failing.

To view this entire article visit www.nytimes.com

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Virtual 3-D lab aims to stimulate learning

CAROLâ€™S SUMMARY: A three-dimensional Virtual Learning Environment developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with the universityâ€™s Center for Technology Education will allow Baltimore Countyâ€™s Chesapeake High School students to explore the area surrounding Mount St. Helens this fall without leaving their classroom. The area around Mount St. Helens was chosen because the ecosystem has changed dramatically over the past 30 years and begins to integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts into the virtual environment. The classroom and lab will be incorporated into the schoolâ€™s environmental science and geometry curricula this school year, with plans to extend to social studies and English next year.

Todayâ€™s students are tech-savvy and most are avid video-gamers. Programs like this will help engage students within a medium they already show interest in and create cross-disciplinary courses and curricula. A giant step in the direction toward improving national graduate rates as recent surveys list boredom as the number one reason for high schoolers to drop out. Thatâ€™s why my new book, Critical and Creative Thinking for Teenagers, co-authored by Maureen Breeze, includes innovators from the past and present to reinforces the skills discussed, as well as, incorporate academic subjects such as statistics and science.

Do you think the Virtual Learning program will succeed at raising student achievement?

Do you think these skills will make American students more competitive with global students?

Itâ€™s important for teachers to be interested in what they teach as well. Do you think programs like this would develop more effective and invested teachers?

The advantages to such a classroom seem obvious. What are the drawbacks and how could you solve them?

ARTICLE:
by Maya T. Prabhu
August 24, 2009
eSchoolNews

Students at a Baltimore County high school this fall will explore the area surrounding Mount St. Helens in a vehicle that can morph from an aircraft to a car to a boat to learn about how the environment has changed since the volcanoâ€™s 1980 eruption.

But theyâ€™ll do it all without ever leaving their Chesapeake High School classroom–they will be using a three-dimensional Virtual Learning Environment developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with the universityâ€™s Center for Technology Education.

To view the entire article visit www.eschoolnews.com

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A New Assignment: Pick Books You Like

As the article below iterates, some schools nationwide are forming reading workshops which allow students the freedom to select their own books rather than the traditional approach of assigning a classic that the entire class reads together. Critics of this approach are concerned that children won’t be exposed to classic literature because they’ll gravitate toward books that are trendy or popular.

This debate begs the question: What is the goal of reading in school and for that matter what is the goal of educating our children? Educational reformer John Dewey said, “The most important attitude that can be formed is that of a desire to learn and go learning.” As most educators agree, a passion for learning isn’t something you have to inspire kids to have; most children are innately curious. Author Alfie Kohn writes, “Anyone who cares about this passion will want to be sure that all decisions about what and how children are taught, every school-related activity and policy is informed by the question: “How will this affect children’s interest in learning, and promote their desire to keep reading, and thinking and exploring?”

Several months into the experiment, the English teacher at Jonesboro Middle School in a south Atlanta suburb says, â€œI feel like almost every kid in my classroom is engaged in a novel that theyâ€™re actually interacting with. Whereas when I do â€˜To Kill a Mockingbird,â€ I know that I have some kids that just donâ€™t get into it.â€

Perhaps a middle-road approach could be implemented where children are allowed to choose books, and so is the teacher. It’s best to teach reading in a way that mixes free choices with great literature. We want to trust students enough to give them some leeway in making decisions at school, which might help promote a lifelong love of reading while also exposing them to some of the reading â€œgreatsâ€ from throughout time.

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ARTICLE:
A New Assignement: Pick Books You Like
By MOTOKO RICH
Published: August 29, 2009
The New York Times

JONESBORO, Ga. â€” For years Lorrie McNeill loved teaching â€œTo Kill a Mockingbird,â€ the Harper Lee classic that many Americans regard as a literary rite of passage.

But last fall, for the first time in 15 years, Ms. McNeill, 42, did not assign â€œMockingbirdâ€ â€” or any novel. Instead she turned over all the decisions about which books to read to the students in her seventh- and eighth-grade English classes at Jonesboro Middle School in this south Atlanta suburb.

To view this entire article visit www.nytimes.com

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Site Spurs Debate Over Required Courses

CAROL’S SUMMARY:
Coinciding with the recent release of “America’s Best Colleges” from US NEWS & WORLD REPORT comes another ranking system, this one based on course requirements at 100 leading colleges and universities nationwide. Sponsored by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, you can view assessments at www.WhatWillTheyLearn.com, where their home page reads: “A guide to what college rankings don’t tell you.” Anyone seeking a well-rounded way of viewing the admissions and selections process would do well to read this.

The web site assesses curriculum requirements coordinated to 21st Century Skills in these seven areas of competencies: Composition, Mathematics, Science, Economics, Foreign Language, Literature, and American Government or History. Whether this is an accurate barometer of the quality of education at various institutions one thing is for sure: To compete in today’s global world students must acquire and implement the requisite critical and creative thinking skills, which employers often bemoan today’s graduates lack.

High school principals need to ask: Where and how are these core competencies relayed, cross-referenced and reinforced? In what ways do students connect the learning in these areas to other key areas of their livesâ€”what they have experienced and what they can imagine experiencing? How interesting are teachers in the ways in which they engage students on these issues through learn-by-doing exercises, discussions and exploration?

LifeBoundâ€™s new book, Critical and Creative Thinking, features these competencies in ways that are reinforced in college, career and life. To order a review copy, go on line to www.lifebound.com.

ARTICLE
Ecampus News

Should American colleges and universities require students to take courses in certain core subjects considered important to a 21st-century education, such as science, economics, history, and foreign languages? It’s a question that has taken on added significance in light of a new web site that grades higher-education institutions according to whether they require these core courses in their general-education curricula.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/17CJZC

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Students Rap Their Way to Achievement, Global Awareness

Back in 2008, students at the Ron Clark Academy became overnight celebrities after their politically-themed rendition of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” attracted milliions of views on YouTube.Â The students, who penned the song “You Can Vote However You Like” to emphasize that voters should choose a candidate based on their political opinions and not on their race, were famous for their singing, dancing and rhyming skills.

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No Dropouts From This Camden, NJ, High School

CAROL’S SUMMARY
â€œI donâ€™t like work, no one does. But I like what is in workâ€”the chance to find yourself.â€
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Students at MetEast High School in Camden, New Jersey are beating the inner-city success odds by studying their passions, giving and receiving peer feedback and making presentations to students and adults four times a year. MetEast is one of sixty schools nationwide designed to help students figure out their interests and abilities, linking those to careers, colleges and fields of interest. This initiative is made possible by Big Picture Learning, which is a non-profit which works with â€œadvisorsâ€ instead of â€œteachersâ€ who coach, motivate and hold accountable their students whom they work with closely for four years.

Students learn follow-through, a crucial life skill. Angelo Drummond, a MetEast student, has come to know and value himself better by committing himself to improving his SAT scores for college. He is proud that for the first time in his life he has learned to be a finisher. That follow through will help succeed wherever his gifts and talents may take him.

Every student can be exposed to this important personal perspective through a LifeBound book called, Gifts and Talents for Teenagers. This book helps students figure out what they are good at so that they can develop follow-through, discipline and self-mastery. No matter what field they decide to pursue, they will need a quality mindset, an attitude of respect and the ability to be accountable to the highest authority who impacts their livesâ€”themselves.

ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK

The best piece of college marketing this year is a television ad that could easily be taken as a fingers-flapping, thumb at the nose to centuries of higher-education tradition.

It’s the Kaplan University spot that starts off showing a pensive-looking “professor” in the well of a wood-paneled lecture hall intoning to his students: “The system has failed you. I have failed you.”

To view the entire article
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i40/40financialaffairs.htm

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As Fiscal Year Ends, Big Questions Loom for Colleges’ Financial Futures

CAROL’S SUMMARY
More than 40 states made mid-year cuts totaling nearly $60 billion according to the Center on Budget and Policy. July 1st begins a new fiscal year and, while fiscal year-end numbers are only one measure of overall stability, it is one people scrutinize and often value the most. If the value dips too low relative to debt load, bondholders could declare the institution in default and demand payment. The high unemployment rate and low personal revenues from income taxes make this situation even worse. All but two states increased their unemployment rates in May. State personal income tax in May was 20% lower than the same period last year.

This may mean that incoming freshmen this year might face a reduction in many services they need to succeed. If these patterns continue, it will be even more important for high schools to prepare students well for college and the world of work. Students themselves will need to have a lot more initiative and personal responsibility to find the help they need at college or within the community. They need to realize that the current economic climate makes getting a college degree more important than ever and that the costs of dropping out may be higher than ever. High schools can start early to communicate that message in ways that are positive, proactive and empowering.

ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK

Will the stock market close on a high note tomorrow, the last day of the fiscal year for most colleges? Will that last big gift come in before the books close?

As always, the answers could help determine whether some colleges will face demands to pay off their debt faster than planned or be subjected to extra monitoring by the U.S. Department of Education. Others might encounter more scrutiny from their accreditors, or pay higher rates of interest when they borrow cash to cover day-to-day expenses.

To view entire article visit
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i40/40june.htm

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Schools of Conscience

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

In the article below, the topic of student conscience and civic engagement is explored in the context of courageous individuals who have quietly helped Holocaust survivors and others in need. The author raises the important perspective that what matters most in our learning is what KIND of students are reading the books and doing the math? The piece of educational emphasis about being a good person, making ethical choices, contributing to the world beyond your own needs is central to human development, but often left out in school. Arguably, these â€œhumanâ€ skills are the most important abilities for college, career and life fulfillment and success.

Several schools in Michigan have taken on a hunger initiative. Their students learned that 18,000 people die each day from hunger and 850 million people go to bed hungry each night. How do you think those statistics motivate apathetic students? Research shows that working with real problems facing the worldâ€”hunger, health, education, injusticesâ€”have the ability to motivate and call forth some of the most dispassionate students. We can all learn a lesson from the model of Michigan and begin to apply this â€œperspectiveâ€ to how we teach students to understand themselves and the world that they are preparing to enter.

In our new book, CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING FOR TEENAGERS, we explore the worldâ€™s greatest problems through each element of critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and conscious action. Write us for a copy and start now to empower your students through compassion and purposeful life choices.

ARTICLE
Educational Leadership
Charles Haynes

Education’s highest aim is to create moral and civic habits of the heart. At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, public schools must do far more to prepare young people to be engaged, ethical advocates of “liberty and justice for all.” Yes, reading and math are important. But what matters most is what kinds of human beings are reading the books and doing the math.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/GC0N1

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