Academic discourse is vital to our success in navigating public policy. But credible academic discourse requires research that informs the outcomes of policy, not policy preferences that shape the outcome of research.
In particular, academic freedom is not to be confused with the First Amendment right of freedom of speech. With academic freedom comes academic responsibility and scholarly integrity.
Happy Graduation, Seniors! Congratulations! What's next? Below is some sociologically-inspired, out-of-the-box advice on work, love, family, friendship, and the meaning of life. For new grads from the two of us!
There we were: 15 people -- members of the neighborhood, many of us strangers until that moment -- and my two dogs, crammed together in a small in-ground storm shelter. We listened to the radio: "The tornado is approaching 4th and Bryant." We were located off of 1st and Bryant.
In a recent survey of several hundred educators, only 13 percent of schools today offer MOOCs, but 43 percent plan to offer them by 2016. So if we agree the trend is here to stay, let's take a look at the growing mythology of Massive Open Online Courses.
It was as bad as it gets. The places we consider safe suddenly looked like a war zone. Teachers used their own bodies to shield students, keeping them safe from falling debris as an entire school collapsed upon them.
How was this possible? I had severe writer's block and reader's block. Is reader's block even a real thing?
The topic of sexuality is subject to the same principles of academic freedom as any other topic. Sexual harassment is wrong because it is harassment, not because it is sexual.
For as long as there have been schools, each fall teachers have probably looked at the uneven readiness of their new students, shaken their heads, and quietly wondered to themselves, "What were those other teachers thinking?"
We live in a digital age and many high school students today document much of their lives online. When applying to college, all aspects of an applicant are taken into consideration, and often times this can include his or her online presence.
It can be daunting -- mining through job sites, editing your cover letters, sweating through interviews -- trying to pin down a basic entry-level job. Where do you even start looking?
In 11 years, I will remember feeling the same sadness, fear, and also interest about the Boston bombings as I did with the 9/11 attacks. However, my experience when I was nine and my experience now with media coverage of tragedy are very different.
Success in college and life comes from gaining knowledge and skills. The more you take responsibility for carving your own path of adventure, the more your true abilities will emerge.
If you've been looking for evidence to support a request to provide more college programming in your local schools, look no more. A new report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling offers these nuggets on college counseling in general.
This past weekend, basketball player Brittney Griner opened up about the fact that her coach at Baylor did not want her to talk openly about her sexuality. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident: One in four LGBT athletes feels pressured to be silent about his or her sexual orientation.
Critics of MOOCs are probably not wrong when they lament that the courses are going to create multiple types of instructor, but I wonder how much of their objection is driven by ego rather than reason.
There weren't any programs that I knew of that would assist me in the process. I had my older sister and mother working with me to make sure my dream came true. Eventually, I was accepted into an art and design school in Chicago but due to high tuition costs, I was unable to attend.
What recent grads have to realize is that they probably won't land the job of their dreams after their first -- or even third -- interview after graduation.
Do our students think that their liberal education proves valuable in regard to their careers and finances in later life? A purely economic indicator seems to show that their answer to that question is Yes.
Jonathan Lewis, 2013.25.05
Ellen Meyers, 2013.25.05