21st Century Scholar

In my last blog post, I shared a major milestone for the Collegeology project: we launched the beta version of Mission:Admission—the Facebook game we have been working on for the past three years. My invitation extended still stands—please log on and play. It has been such fun over the last week hearing back from students [...]

I can’t tell if this is the best time to bring this up, but I am going to anyway. By the time you read this blog, USC graduation will be about a week old. This means that within the next three months or so, most graduates, except those who are continuing on to new academic [...]

One of my fondest memories of college occurred during my first semester as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, College Park. I remember walking from class one chilly November evening. As I was contemplating the class discussion of The Laramie Project, a play about the tragic death of Matthew Shepard, I exited from a [...]

Mr. Mathis, has any school ever told you ‘no’? The above question was posed by a high school junior enrolled in my Collegiate Academic Scholars course in an Early College High School. In a recent conversation regarding my educational career, the student asked if I was ever denied to any of the colleges I applied [...]

Graduation is around the corner and you know what that means—pull out the academic regalia and prepare for some pretty boring events. At USC we have three ceremonies: on Thursday morning there is a hooding for all Ph.D. candidates in the university auditorium; on Thursday afternoon the Rossier school has a ceremony where the Ed.D. [...]

Last week, I discussed the difference between deficit and surplus perspectives in education. A surplus of cultures exists in many low-income neighborhoods. And yet, current research, policy, and practice often assume a deficit perspective. I argued, instead, that scholars, policymakers, and practitioners ought to consider a surplus perspective. Such a perspective refocuses discussions from what [...]

I was famously quoted in a PBS documentary on for-profit education that I thought, for the vast majority of students who do not attend a highly-selective research university, that education was a business. Two years later, I have to admit, I still think so. What led me to revisit this issue was not the recent [...]

In education, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers often espouse a deficit cultural perspective to explain academic success and failure; students who succeed exemplify a mainstream culture whereas students who fail represent an oppositional culture. Unfortunately, by “blaming the victim,” such arguments echo previous culture of poverty debates, reinforce stereotypes, and do little to move us forward. [...]

I have been mulling over a question posed to me at this past AERA meeting. A well-respected scholar, after hearing about the college access games we are developing, expressed doubt over the positive effects of a game where players role play the college preparation process. “What you are saying,” he shared, “is like me saying [...]

“The loan you save may be your own.” –#dontdoublemyrate “If Congress doesn’t act, it’s the students who pay.” It’s almost like the April 24 skit by President Obama. Jimmy Fallon and Black Thought of the Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was made for my blog! If you haven’t had a chance to watch [...]