Author: Editor

OPINION: Stop holding college transcripts hostage over unpaid debtInstitutions of higher education like to boast of their diversity initiatives, showcasing the diversity of their student bodies on slick websites. Beneath those smiling testaments to multiculturalism is the likelihood that many students of color, often from low-income backgrounds, will have to interrupt their education several times. Every time a person drops out there is a risk that the college will be owed a fee. The school can then withhold the student’s transcript until the debt is paid in full. This ransom approach to debt collection undermines the egalitarian rhetoric: Millions of Americans cannot reenroll in college because of an outstanding debt owed to a college they previously attended. The debt could be due to unp...

Education Has a Three-Headed Crisis. Mental Health Is Only Part of It.A year ago, I wrote “The Next Pandemic: Mental Health” for National Mental Health Month, published in May 2020 in EdSurge. We were two months into the pandemic in America and already early signs of a mental health crisis were emerging from isolation and trauma. It is now time to update this piece for 2021. Because the reality is that we are not only experiencing a mental health pandemic; we now have a three-headed learning crisis consisting of mental health, empathy and creativity. Our children are growing in precisely the opposite direction. They are less mentally healthy, less empathetic and less creative than they were at the beginning of the decade. Do you remember Hydra, the multi-headed, snakelike water monster f...

Pass/Fail Grading Was an Act of Pandemic Compassion. Is It Here to Stay?In his 21 years of teaching, Jesse Stommel says he has never put a grade on a piece of student’s work. As executive director of the journal “Hybrid Pedagogy,” which explores alternatives to traditional assessments, he says using student self-evaluations better takes into consideration all the demands and stresses of their lives when compared to traditional grading. So it would be reasonable for Stommel to think that when the pandemic forced universities to suddenly finish the term remotely—a time when students needed compassion in grading more than ever—his approach would already be well-suited for the moment. “What I actually found was I changed my own grading approach significantly in the midst of the pandemic. Stude...

Make Way For Your Child To Take Charge Of Their Career & LifeYou are probably doing the best for your child.  You’ve enrolled them in talent classes to enhance their skills. You sit with them in their practice sessions. You post their pictures on social media and help them garner encouraging reviews. You gather new ideas by checking what the children of friends and relatives have been up to.  But as a parent, you must also check if you allow your child to take the lead when it comes to their life – or do you want to have the final say in their life’s important decisions? Because by the time you know it, you may be researching courses and shortlisting universities that you think would be right for them. But, are you sure that your child will be passionate about the course or career you had ...