Blogs

I spent the last few days on my first accreditation site visit. I’ve been on the receiving end of three of the big ten-year versions -- lucky timing -- so it seemed like time to try being on the other side.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this essay by Amy Boesky in The Kenyon Review that reflected on her time ghostwriting for the Sweet Valley High series. What caught my attention was the fact that she wrote for the series throughout her time as a doctoral student (okay, I admit it--I actually started reading because I spent countless hours in my formative years with the Wakefield twins). Boesky's description of her work made me think about the ways what we do outside of our grad school work can be a real benefit to the development of our grad school selves.

Several incidents recently drew me into the core of my University’s business: students. One was a failed suicide attempt. Last semester, we had one who was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Less tragic were two students known to me who have similarly dropped out of school: one who was a recipient of a food subsidy program I had been supporting and another a Political Science junior whose health could no longer cope with the travel from her remote mountain village to our campus in Miagao. Being chair of a Division that runs two undergraduate programs with 420 odd students, having 4 students fall into the cracks as it were may be statistically insignificant. But being a teacher, any addition to the score of (near) dropouts is heartbreaking.

When have you worked with your university lawyer?

An important trend is worth mentioning as part of the context to last week’s post. One of the factors contributing to the record high number of applications and record low acceptance rates is that more prospective students are applying to more schools.

I'm married to a pediatric oncologist / hematologist, so dinnertime conversation is often about when things go really really wrong. The good news about pediatric cancer is most kids now get better. But even in cases with good outcomes extended hospital stays are not uncommon, and relapses and new diagnoses do occur for college kids.

U.S. political culture suffers from a paucity of policy qua policy thinking. In this sense, I refer to "Big 'P' " policy, as in national policy. Whether about medical care, gun control or international relations, this paucity exists, and technology and education are no exceptions. The effect is pernicious. In technology, it lends itself to such issues as "crisis in cyber-security," "the growing digital divides" or the "dangerous diminution of privacy."

The question of whether computers should grade work is a question of professional ethics. Those who teach should be clear about what makes them professionals: their ability to judge.