Students » Carol J. Carter

Campus Counseling Centers React to Recession-Related Stress Among Students

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

College student stress levels at college this year are at an all time high because of the economy. Parents have lost jobs and are unable to help pay for college. Many students are daunted by the bleak job prospects after graduation, and the debt they are incurring in college. Combine these factors with the normal feelings of adjustments students have during college and you have a recipe for tapped out and fully taxed advisors and counselors on college campuses. The stress also impacts faculty who teach undergraduates.

Colleges can help their staff by emphasizing coaching skills–the pro-active and specific ways in which you can help students to focus on their options and the steps they can take to further their specific goals. Coaching is
not rescuing; on the contrary, it is about showing people that they are creative, capable and resourceful so that they have the wherewithal to move through their own obstacles.

During times like this, it is helpful to remind students of the courageous people who have immigrated to this country from oppressive dictatorships, half of the world’s population who live on less than $2 a day, and the
incredible men and women who returned to the U.S. after serving in World War II who, from very little, built an economy which still sustains us today.

Even in hard times by our standards, students in the U.S. still have many advantages with which to take on current and future challenges. We are up to that task and our very best days can be ahead, and will be, if we all
become fortified–stronger and more effective– by the current economic situation.

ARTICLE
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By STEVEN BUSHONG

Rebecca Jordan has been a good student, achieving nearly a B average and working as an undergraduate student assistant in the English department at Troy University. But lately, she says, “family drama” has been keeping her up at night, sapping her motivation, and making class seem like a chore better avoided.

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Will the Economy Really Change Students’ College Plans? Early Signs Say Yes

This year, both students and families are facing tough choices about where to go to college. According to the Chronicle’s article below, 29% of students from families with income less than $40,000 are staying close to home, compared with 16% of families in the $40,000-$100,000 range. Public universities, community colleges and other college alternatives, which offer great value for the dollar, are the most attractive from a practical stand point.

It isn’t where students go to college; it is what they do while they are there that counts. My oldest brother won a Rhodes Scholarship after graduating from the University of Arizona because he had worked as an intern for the Wall Street Journal, traveled for eight months through South America and Mexico and sought experiences which would really stretch him to grow. That is how he earned the Rhodes.

In these tough times, students can look to their own resourcefulness for the most interesting, unique experiences which can be their teachers outside of class, complimenting what they learn on campus.

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ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
By BECKIE SUPIANO and ERIC HOOVER

High-school seniors have only until May 1 to decide where they will go to college. While it is still too soon to tell if widespread predictions that seniors will flock to lower-cost institutions were accurate, two new surveys and conversations with guidance counselors suggest that the economic situation is indeed playing a large role in students’ decisions.

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Learning Skills Course Appears to Help Students Succeed

CAROL’S SUMMARY:
Freshmen success courses which emphasize personal growth, self-awareness, academic strategies and solid job-related activities and exercises do help students succeed in college, career, and life. Bruce Tuckman’s research at Ohio State University corroborates much of the research from the National Resource Center on the First Year Experience (FYE), the National Association of Developmental Education (NADE) and the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).

But success-readiness doesn’t stop with one class. Prospective freshmen need to plan internships to discover careers and fields which interest them, join organizations on their campus or within their communities which can build their leadership skills, and reach out to establish rapport with people in fields and careers they might want to pursue. A freshmen success class, whether in the summer or fall of their first year of college, is just the beginning of the initiative needed for the challenges and rewards of today’s global world.

ARTICLE
Chronicles of Higher Education
By David Glenn

A learning and motivation course at Ohio State University appears to have succeeded in improving studentsâ€™ grades and retention rates, according to a study scheduled to be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego.

To view the entire article visit
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Locked-In Tuition Is a Win for Families but a Tough Sell for Colleges

Many four year colleges are hard-pressed in these economic times to find ways to increase their revenues amidst state budget cuts and dwindling enrollments from students who are choosing more economically priced community colleges. In the article below, many colleges are trying to â€œcloseâ€ students and parents ahead of time through advanced payment plans. This may pay the college less over the long haul, but it ensures student attendance and commits students to that school for the course of their degree programs unless something goes really wrong.

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On the Job, but on the Outlook for Work

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Even introverts should open their minds to the power of social networking in a down economy. As the article below indicates, people who get out and meet others through womenâ€™s groups, special interests, sports and hobbies will have more job connections and information about jobs than people who keep to themselves. You can network in person or on-line through LinkedIn and sites like FaceBook, but a combination of both strategies is likely your best bet. So, put yourself out there and reap the rewards of expanding your social circle to people who can help you and vice versa.

ARTICLE

New York Times
by Laura M. Holson

Networking before the pink slip arrives is a measure of the anxiety seeping into nearly every corner of the work world.
So a few weeks ago, Katherine Wu, an executive at NBC Universal, packed an overnight bag with her yoga mat and drove 80 miles to Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y., to a retreat organized by 85 Broads, a womenâ€™s networking group. In between spa treatments and sun salutations, she and 17 fellow executives discussed career prospects in an unsettled economy.

To view the entire article visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/fashion/09networking.html?emc=eta1

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Europe’s Higher-Education Restructuring Holds Lessons for U.S., Report Says

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Clifford Adelman from the Institute for Higher Education, is leading a new way of thinking in the U.S. based on the Bologna Process, the higher education agenda of 29 European countries. Like many of us, Adelman believes the U.S. is no longer on the cutting edge, nor can “we assume world-wide dominance oblivious to the creative energies, natural intelligence and hard work of other nations.”

The Lumina Foundation agrees with Adelman and will be working in three states–Minnesota, Utah and Indiana–to pilot some of the strategies from the Bologna Process. Most appealing to me, is that people from many perspectives will be surveyed–students, faculty, recent grads and, hang on to your hat, employers in an effort to define knowledge and skills needed from specific disciplines as they translate to real world success. Wow!
What a concept and how obvious in this age of serious global competition. I would encourage all states to follow suit as soon as possible.

The Lumina Foundation’s goal is to increase the quality of degrees–and I am sure there must be workforce equivalent to measure this longitudinally–from 39% to 60% by 2025. As I said, we could really benefit from this nationally. In this age of global achievement and opportunity, the U.S. needs to look out for best practices and then apply them to an educational system which can again become cutting-edge, hopefully on or before 2025.

ARTICLE
Chronicle of Higher Education
April 8, 2009

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Report Envisions Shortage of Teachers as Retirements Escalate

CAROL’S SUMMARY:Â

As the article below indicates, over the next four years, one third of the nationâ€™s 3.2 million teachers are slated to retire. In addition to that, many entering the professionâ€”one in three–drop out in their first five years of teaching.

What can we do to keep talented young teachers on the teaching track? What are we not doing in our schools of education to prepare these students for what lies ahead? How can we recruit some of the best and brightest people from industry to get their teaching certificates and become teachers in this tough economy? How can we look to other nations for top talent in teachers who can inspire and educate our students in the United States? How can more talented teachers become principals or leaders in their districts in other important capacities?

Many people with industry experience are now being considered for Superintendent positions. School boards value managers who are data driven, smart and able to motivate and inspire people beyond what they have always done. Michael Bennett in Colorado was a lawyer and a successful business person before he ran Denver Public Schools. Now that he is a United States Senator, his successor was the CFO under Bennet and has the same business sensibilities as the new Superintendent.

ARTICLE
New York Times

By SAM DILLON
April 7, 2009
Over the next four years, more than a third of the nationâ€™s 3.2 million teachers could retire, depriving classrooms of experienced instructors and straining taxpayer-financed retirement systems, according to a new report.

To view entire article visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/education/07teacher.html?emc=eta1

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Gossip Girls and Boys Get Lessons in Empathy

CAROL’S SUMMARY: Spoiled behavior among young adults has long been a problem, but schools are tackling those problems first-hand by developing programs and classes to teach students empathy. LifeBound publishes a book and a program called People Smarts for Teenagers, which focuses on teaching students what Daniel Goleman terms “emotional intelligence.” Goleman argues that your EQ is more important than your IQ in college, career and life. People Smartsâ€”and EQâ€”is all about how you understand and manage yourself, relate to and work with others, and handle life disappointments and setbacks. These qualities go into someoneâ€™s personal gristâ€”and those are some of the greatest indicators of life success.

ARTICLE:

By WINNIE HU
Published: April 4, 2009

SCARSDALE, N.Y. â€” The privileged teenagers at Scarsdale Middle School are learning to be nicer this year, whether they like it or not.
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English classes discuss whether Friar Laurence was empathetic to Romeo and Juliet. Research projects involve interviews with octogenarians and a survey of local wheelchair ramps to help students identify with the elderly and the disabled. A new club invites students to share snacks and board games after school with four autistic classmates who are in separate classes during the day.

Visit www.nytimes.com to view this entire article

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Community Colleges Anticipate Boom in Baby-Boomer Students

Students over 50 will be hitting college campuses this year at record rates. What does that mean for colleges and what does that mean for the students themselves?

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High school dropouts cost US $319B over lifetime

CAROL’S SUMMARY: Virginia Governor, Bob Wise, says that the high school drop-outs in the class of 2008 will cost the nation $319 billion over their lifetime in lost or low wages, health-care and prison costs. Currently, 30% of all high students totaling 1.2 million, do not graduate from high school. For minority students, that number is a staggering 50%.

So, what can we do to start early and often to prevent this alarming trend from continuing? For one thing, we need to have a level playing field for minority students and at-risk students who may not have the resources at home to succeed. Schools featuring advisory classes can focus on the emotional, social and academic development of every child. The organization I founded, LifeBound, has books and resources to help every student discover their gifts, talents and abilities as well as their educational passion. Beginning in fifth grade, we need to emphasize success and transition so that we can prepare students for successâ€”not failure or even average performanceâ€”in the global world they are about to enter.

ARTICLE:

ATLANTA (AP) â€” High school dropouts from the class of 2008 will cost the country $319 billion over their lifetime, former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise said during a panel discussion Thursday.

That number includes the income the students will have lost because of a lack of education and what they’ll cost taxpayers in publicly funded healthcare, prison stays and other services.

“The first group affected when a student drops out of high school is the student themselves, but there’s another group affected as well,” Wise told the room full of teens from across the country. “It’s the rest of us. It’s you, me, all of us.”

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