21st Century Scholar

In an age of rampant capitalism we have the capacity to direct every dollar in a particular direction that the capitalist state desires. In my last blog I wrote about the ability of the state to change its financial aid system so that public universities can get more state aid while the private institutions get [...]

Let’s assume we’re friends and you’re hungry and out of money. You come to me and say, “I need some money for lunch.” I look in my wallet, pull out a 10, and say, “Keep the change.”  You come back in an hour and sheepishly say, “I need another five bucks.” I shake my head [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the FixUC plan. The February 2 article in Inside Higher Ed titled No Money Down! about the plan inspired me to look into it even more. I get the basics: You go to a UC and then graduate. You pay nothing while in school. You only have to pay 5% [...]

I do not see the current environment as a viable option. If we want to maintain the status quo two actions would need to occur. First, state governments would need to provide many more resources to higher education than they are currently doing. Second, consumers would need to be willing (and able) to pay much [...]

Last week, Governor Jerry Brown described his 2012 budget proposal, which included a $5.2 billion cut in education if voters do not approve a tax increase on the ballot this November. Of the total, Brown plans to cut $4.8 billion in K–12 public school funding—the equivalent of three weeks of schooling—and $200 million to the [...]

Credibility is the first (and most important) criteria for establishing trustworthiness in qualitative research. Credibility, like it’s step-sibling validity, is often the subject of much debate; scholars argue about what it can and cannot do and what strategies researchers should and should not use to ensure rigor in research (see “Varieties of Validity: Quality in [...]

Now is the time to give thanks. I am thankful for having good health, professional successes, and old and new friends and family. When I consider major trends in education, however, giving thanks is more difficult.  Don’t get me wrong—there are people and events for which to be thankful. This year, Governor Brown signed legislation [...]

The Thursday Pop OK, so Halloween is just 11 days away, and while many of you may be more interested in deciding between that Smurf costume (for yourself, or your dog) and the Scurvy Pirate look (again, for you, or the dog), I’m dealing with ghoulish misrepresentations about applying for financial aid. Over the past [...]

In a recent New York Times magazine article, Joe Nocera spells out a compelling argument about why we need for profit colleges. Given the fight and fury concerning the private sector colleges in the U.S. Congress, the Department of Education, and the media, I find myself frequently writing in support of the sector. My nearly [...]

Optimizing individual components can only lead to incremental change; optimizing the system can lead to a transformational ecology. –Tom Freidman Friedman’s assertion is the sort of comment that Clayton Christiansen, of disruptive technology fame, makes as well. What we have seen during the economic downturn is our public systems needing to deal with transformational change [...]