Peabloggy

This is an exciting time for film buffs as the annual movie awards season is underway. With that in mind, I read an article in The Tennessean on-line about an educational program, the Wounded Marine Training Center for Careers in Media, through which injured military personnel attend a 10-week session equipping them for jobs in the film industry. This is not a degree program so much as it is an “apprenticeship.”

In the history class with Dr. Doyle last semester, my cohort studied the G.I. Bill, among other topics. I found the course material concerning the G.I. Bill particularly interesting, because my father, a World War II veteran, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees after the war thanks to this program. This led him into a career in higher education as a professor of economics at a community college until his retirement in 1997.

Although my dad studied economics and not film, the efforts of the Wounded Marine program should be applauded for helping today’s soldiers prepare for new careers after their service to our country.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MARINES_FILM_SCHOOL?SITE=TNNAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

An article in Education Week sparked conflict and conversation between new and experienced teachers. Sabrina Laine claims that the new generation of teachers are “20-somethings who connect with their friends via online social-networking sites and live with the world at their fingertips… [They] are inherently going to be incompatible with a stagnant education system that can be painfully isolating and uninspiring.”

Quite a bold statement for one of the most widely read publications for educators, and predominately more experienced teachers at that. I’ve been trying to decide if I think my generation in particular is facing a greater challenge than previous generations of new teachers, and I’m not sure of the answer. I see teacher education programs changing (albeit slowly) to meet the new needs of teachers and students. I see older teachers petitioning for access to technology in their classrooms alongside novice teachers. I’m waiting with many other teachers for the education pendulum to swing away from ineffective standardized tests and the over-emphasis (or mis-emphasis, rather) on “basic skills.”

I think each new generation of teachers must face its own particular challenge, and I find the comment in Education Week to be overly pessimistic in a field that requires a great deal of hope and a great deal of persistence.

–Katie Harris

I suppose before one can discuss whether higher education is effectively preparing graduates for the workforce, the first consideration would involve if, indeed, job training is really the, well, job of today’s universities. Otherwise, while reading this recent article in The Chronicle, one may say “shame” on our colleges for testing content knowledge and recall.

Now, I have long felt that most people write poorly, including spelling and grammar; so, I understand that employers are finding college graduates lacking in their writing skills. I also know what it is like to graduate from undergrad without any hope of full-time employment (I studied writing and political science). So, in those ways, I am on the bandwagon hitched to this article. However, I don’t mind multiple-choice tests, and I am not sure how to learn “self-direction” or globalism in most college settings.

Although a degree and zero work experience is not necessarily the best combination (I know this first-hand), so employers could offer more on-the-job training and consistent development opportunities to enrich their new staff’s practical abilities. Career services programs on college campuses can help, too.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=rCmg3nBzkSsb9GWWwpbtmqghkjq2RBs8

Just another observation from student teaching:

At the end of this last week, I felt an intense craving to be called by my first name. I needed a break from the constant barrage of “Ms. Bowers.”

This is one aspect of teaching that I did not anticipate - I’m wondering if I should get all my friends and loved ones to say my name into a digital voice recorder so I can play it when I need to be reminded of who I am outside of the classroom. : )

- Rachel Bowers

I came across this interesting article the other day and figured, ‘Hey, vandy students already wear flip-flops around in 10 degree weather; why not just donate the shoes that should be keeping their feet warm to charity?’

Really. If you have to wear your North Face coat, you should probably at least slip on your top-siders and maybe some socks.

Luke Webb

In the most recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education (Volume LIV, Number 20, January 25, 200 , a very interesting, if not disturbing, article about college sports was presented. According to the article, a study done by the NCAA states that an alarming number of college student athletes are spending an incredible amount of time training, practicing, and playing his or her sport. For football players, the amount of time was actually an average of 44.8 hours per week…on top of the time spent in classes. Individuals designated as “student athletes” must choose between the two monikers, and it seems like many are choosing the latter. The NCAA recognizes the problem, but is apparently doing little to improve the situation.

It is difficult to place blame on any one individual or group for the increase in the amount of time college athletes must spend practicing and playing. In the end, we are all responsible to some degree. The pressure placed on coaches is immense, and this ultimately trickles down through the players. Those of us who are fans demand great entertainment, not to mention division and national championships. College presidents and athletic directors expect good teams that will bring in revenue and national attention. It’s really a vicious cycle.

So, the next time you watch a major college sporting event, ponder the fact that the student athletes you are watching probably spent more time practicing last week than you spent at work.

- Landon Clark

These days, everything (from cars to light bulbs) seems to be experiencing photosynthesis. It is not any wonder then that continuing education has joined the movement for environmentalism and “sustainability,” which the article defines as “a concept that incorporates making ecologically sound and economically viable decisions.” 

This article is from the University Continuing Education Association’s online newsletter, In Focus. The author specifically explores the University of California- Davis Extension’s Green Building and Sustainable Design Certificate Program.

http://www.ucea.edu/resources/pubs/infocuscoverstory200710.html

To find out more about how Vanderbilt is going green, check out this blog entry: http://blogs.vanderbilt.edu/itsgreen/?p=5.

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

Last semester in Dr. Doyle’s Nature and Function of Higher Education class, one of my classmates sent out an article over email about the increasing wealth of prestigious higher education institutions. The Business Week article went as far as to say that the affluence was in fact “dangerous.” I read the article with a tad bit of cynicism, mainly because I am a Vanderbilt student, and let’s face it, Vanderbilt is up there with the universities referenced in the article in regards to large-scale capital campaigns and spending. I don’t consider the lavish spending of Vanderbilt or any other prestigious institution to be dangerous, but rather a necessary step to keep up with the needs of the students, staff, and faculty.

In the article, I was intrigued by the attention given to the increased competition in the acquisition and retention of faculty members. I find it interesting that a select few in the faculty realm could be technically classified as rock star athletes. While I seriously doubt I will ever reach this pinnacle in the academy, the fact is that some faculty members are at this level and are highly sought after by both private and public institutions. I think it is great that educators can reach the elite status usually reserved for athletes and celebrities. I wouldn’t call this dangerous, and unless the Department of Education creates a salary cap, the institutions that hold the money will attract the best talent. If the prevalence of rock star faculty members keeps up, we might have Fantasy Faculty Leagues on campus within the next few years.

It seems as though the rich will keep getting richer, and I, along with a host of others, don’t have a problem with that. And there probably won’t be any Free Agent clauses being included in faculty contracts anytime soon, so the trend will undoubtedly continue.

- Landon Clark

Election year is well underway at this point, complete with varying results from state to state and the beginnings of playground spats between the candidates. This article from a December issue of USA Today explores what some people in Iowa were prepared to do to secure university students’ presence at the caucus—including cheap hotel rooms and carpools.

According to the article, college students were deterred from attending the Iowa caucus by the busyness of their schedule (e.g. needing to work in order to pay for school, instead of heading to the polls) and winter break, during which many college students returned to their out-of-state homes.

The article suggests that college students (within the 18-24 age group) simply may be too busy for politics. Politics, though, is one thing; while exercising the privilege to vote and responsibility to preserve American rights and freedoms for the future are quite another. Politics can be confusing and messy, but there is nothing complicated about the excuses we all make when we don’t vote. However you vote, get out there, and represent your age group with pride!

-Teresa Bagamery Clark

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-31-youth-vote_N.htm

I am taking a course on young adult literature this semester. The assigned reading for the class includes the usual Newbery award winners and feel good stories about the values of hard work and education. In addition to those family friendly faves, however, are books that deal with the issues of homosexuality, sex, and rape, all in the high-school-age setting. I personally hold no illusions about what my students will already have learned about these subjects by the time they get to my classroom, and hold no objections to teaching literature that deals with them; but the multiplicity of problems that could arise when dealing frankly with such issues in school worries me. The story of a parent barging into a teachers room, demanding a teacher’ head on a platter, waving an assigned book that contains the “F” word, and insisting that her child had never been exposed to such language at a public school was recently relayed to me. The absurdity of such a statement, unfortunately, does not render it powerless. At what age, then, and in what setting, does it become acceptable to discuss such sensitive issues? Would parents rather they learned it from CSI and Grey’s Anatomy or a credentialed, accountable, highly educated professional instructed in how to teach those topics?

I understand and respect the rights of parents who may actually succeed in shielding their children from all things bad in this world, and would happily make exceptions in such cases. There, I said it.

Luke Webb