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8 votes
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Students at Brown just secured a vote on divestment. What happens next?
24 votes -
The state as blunt force - impressions of the Columbia campus clearance
11 votes -
The youth need your help
21 votes -
Student revolt and the curtailing of critical speech
19 votes -
The parents in my classroom
25 votes -
This is a teenager
36 votes -
How Chinese students experience America
23 votes -
How do you feel about student loan forgiveness?
The debate is coming back up because of new talks around student loan forgiveness in the US. I was on the fence about it until I did some extra research for a comment I posted last week. I am...
The debate is coming back up because of new talks around student loan forgiveness in the US. I was on the fence about it until I did some extra research for a comment I posted last week.
I am including the comment I posted last week that was from a discussion about whether general education classes should be required for a college degree, but the part about the societal value of a college graduate to the US is relevant.
Higher education is an interesting thing to put a price on because while some classes can provide economic benefits to people who get a higher education, many classes provide more of a societal benefit.
A history class doesn't help an engineer make a jet turbine, but it can help them be an informed voter. College campuses mix people of different races, genders, origins, and socioeconomic classes with each other. The general education courses expose students to different concepts that can help them in their civic lives.
College graduates also have many economic benefits to society. On average, college graduates pay much more in taxes than they take in government benefits over their lifetimes. High school graduates also contribute, but only a modest gain where college graduates contribute 4-5x what they take. Governments invest $28,000 per college student on average but gain $335,000 in net monetary benefit over their lifetime.
I get that many people are opposed to courses that don't directly apply to a career because they have to pay a lot of money out of pocket when the course may only provide a benefit to society. Why can't the government provide loan forgiveness to anyone who graduates? It would take pressure off students and still provide a net benefit to society over having them not graduate.
50 votes -
Has anyone gotten a degree online?
Does anyone have any experience with online degree programs? I was looking into the Arizona State University online Electrical Engineering BSE. The program is accredited and your degree is not...
Does anyone have any experience with online degree programs? I was looking into the Arizona State University online Electrical Engineering BSE. The program is accredited and your degree is not marked any differently than an in person ASU degree.
I already have a BA in Economics, but I don’t really use my degree for my work. I feel like my career is progressing just fine, but I’ve always been interested in science and math. I tried Electrical Engineering at the beginning of my undergrad, but I was too undisciplined and unfocused to handle it.
I am interested in ASU because it will allow me to take classes while still having a full time job, but I am interested if anyone else has gotten a degree while working full time. What was your experience like?
15 votes -
UT Austin lays off around sixty staffers to comply with Texas DEI ban
22 votes -
Relative financial burden imposed on university students by housing cost in Germany steadily increasing. About a third of all students close to poverty line. How does this compare to your region?
The latest iteration of a study regarding the cost of student housing in Germany found, that rent prices for students have risen to a germany-wide average of 479€. Three years ago the average was...
The latest iteration of a study regarding the cost of student housing in Germany found, that rent prices for students have risen to a germany-wide average of 479€. Three years ago the average was just 391€. In Munich the average cost for student housing has risen to no less than 760€. This is more than double than the housing-cost covered by BAföG, a public program providing financial support to students from low-income families. [1]
Statistically, more than a third of students in Germany are at risk of poverty at the moment, meaning they have less than 60% of the country's mean income available. [2] [3]
Also with regards to Munich specifically, the number of designated student housing facilities has not grown significantly or even dropped over the past few years, while the number of students has been steadily increasing. This means that more and more students have to look for rooms in shared apartments on the city's highly competitive housing market. Statistically, these students are those that live close to the poverty line particularly often.
I realize that the cost of high-quality higher education in Germany is not as majorly fucked as for example in the USA, but still the financial burden on students is steadily increasing due to housing cost. How does this compare to where you're from? How is student housing organized in your city, how much does it cost relative to the mean income, and do you experience similar trends in your region?
Sources (german), besides in-person conversations and experiences:
[1] https://cms.moses-mendelssohn-institut.de/uploads/24_03_19_Wohnkosten_Studierende_804a7b53ef.pdf
[2] https://www.spiegel.de/start/statistisches-bundesamt-mehr-als-ein-drittel-der-studierenden-lebt-unter-der-armutsgrenze-a-460cb19f-8a62-43ab-8b52-652814234250
[3] https://youtu.be/UVaY8SCtjwg28 votes -
Where are all the teachers? Breaking down America's teacher shortage crisis in five charts.
34 votes -
"The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape"
42 votes -
Higher education teaching career advice
Greetings Tildeans! I am wrapping up my Ph.D. and am pursuing a teaching-focused career in higher education. I am currently in talks for a 4-year institution teaching faculty position that would...
Greetings Tildeans!
I am wrapping up my Ph.D. and am pursuing a teaching-focused career in higher education. I am currently in talks for a 4-year institution teaching faculty position that would revolve around teaching a subject I am passionate about and could provide a lot of intellectual stimulation. Unless something wild happens the offer is there and we are just negotiating the parameters. I also have a position that is in 2nd-phase interviews for a community college tenure track position that would be teaching general biology, anatomy, and physiology. I feel optimistic that they are going to offer me a position, but nothing is concrete yet.
I'm at this impasse because both have really good reasons for doing them and would provide experiences unique from the other. I am trying to balance the pros and cons between these two positions and consider what might be good for my career in the long run, and so I was hoping I could get some advice. Even if you're not in academia I think it would be helpful to get some outside prospective. I'm gonna list my thoughts on it below.
4-year University
Pros:
-Teach upper level and domain specific courses with opportunity to design courses I am passionate about.
-Integrated into scientific community if I want to to do more research/keep abreast of scientific advancements.
-Great community of teaching faculty with lots of support.
-Could be good curriculum vitae experience if I want to stay teaching at a 4-year institution, and could open up teaching psychology courses.
-Option to develop a community outreach project I am passionate about, not sure if there is support for me but there is infrastructure there.
-Partner's family is in the area, and it is a big metropolitan area with lots to do.
-Can get tuition at 25% cost for my partner and I incase we want to get some other degrees.Cons:
-Pay is not great (does have option of picking up extra summer online classes to earn more).
-My partner and I don't want to live here long term, primarily because of climate, and cost of living is increasing. We are already ready to move, but this is a good opportunity.
-Is contract based, so not as much job security. Having said that, many of the teaching faculty have been there a long time and it seems like the student body for this department is generally growing.Community College
Pros:
-Pay is pretty good, and there is a baked in growth of salary as long as you stay there long term. Pay could be as much as $15K more starting out than the 4-year institution.
-Small class sizes, so better teacher:student ratio means more involved education.
-Cost of living in the area is pretty cheap (so far).
-Beautiful area and would put us closer to a part of the country we would like to live in long term.
-I do like biology and physiology, just not as much as neuroscience.
-From my understanding there is lot of support and easy options to get into administration if so desired. All the faculty I briefly met had been there at least 7 years.Cons:
-Only lower levels courses, with little room to develop new ones.
-Not sure how this would impact my ability to switch to a 4-year institution if I end up craving that intellectual stimulation.
-The area is in a part of California that does have issues with forest fires (not the town proper), and the county swings hard in the opposite direction of my politics.
-Small town so there isn't as much to do.Overall, the community college looks best on paper. We're not planning on having kids so family support isn't as big of a deal. My main concern is if I could switch back to a 4-year institution if I feel like I'm missing something. So if anyone has any thoughts please let me know, in particular if there are other things I'm not considering that you think are worth examining.
Edit: Just to add some additional information. As part of making myself a good candidate for higher education, I have worked as a teaching assistant for several courses during grad school and I have taught online physiology as an adjunct professor at a community college, so I have some experience in both environments.
Thanks ahead of time!
20 votes -
One in four school-starters in England and Wales not toilet-trained, say teachers
40 votes -
Liberty University hit with record fines for failing to handle complaints of sexual sssault, other crimes
17 votes -
What's the matter with men? They’re floundering at school and in the workplace. Some conservatives blame a crisis of masculinity, but the problems—and their solutions—are far more complex.
51 votes -
A university professor reflects about time management
7 votes -
$1 billion donation will provide free tuition at a Bronx medical school
21 votes -
American teachers are missing more school, and there are too few substitutes
46 votes -
UBC student flies to school from Calgary (because Vancouver is that unaffordable to live in)
31 votes -
Learning and studying things without taking notes
I'm curious if there's anybody here who's like this. Either doing it without writing things down, or doing it minimally. I don't know why but I find it very difficult to do, and it stops me from...
I'm curious if there's anybody here who's like this. Either doing it without writing things down, or doing it minimally. I don't know why but I find it very difficult to do, and it stops me from actually learning/studying. I feel like it slows me down, significantly. It also feels like a chore. I feel like part of this may be because I'm in information security? Like, there's a lot of reading and researching going on, then immediate practicing and applying. Even when I have to take tests. I just read and listen or whatever else and that's it. Maybe in other fields, taking notes is a big thing, or maybe it's just me. I also have other interests, but yet still, I simply can't bring myself to write things down. I just prefer to absorb everything, in whatever pace I like, sometimes it's slow, sometimes it's fast. If I ever decide that I'm going to take notes while learning/studying, I'd stare at my notebook/software for a very long time. I'd sit with one chapter/slide for quite awhile. At the same time, I truly admire people who take notes and write stuff. I do wish I was like them sometimes. Is anybody out here the same? Even though I really want to hear from people who are similar, everyone else can join the discussion too. What do you do? How do you do it? What is your preference? Do you think there's a "better" way to do things? Could taking notes be "superior" to the opposite?
27 votes -
UK professor suffered discrimination due to anti-Zionist beliefs, tribunal rules
20 votes -
Inventing the perfect US college applicant – For $120,000 a year, Christopher Rim promises to turn any student into Ivy bait
23 votes -
Families find ways around Taliban restrictions on girls’ education
15 votes -
‘America is under attack’: Inside the anti-D.E.I. crusade
27 votes -
Canada announces cap on international students for next two years
29 votes -
Why do some educators dislike teaching people who don't already know?
28 votes -
Why this math professor objects to diversity statements
46 votes -
Citing safety, dozens of Jewish families are leaving Oakland public schools
37 votes -
Scientist cited [by Christopher Rufo to make allegations of plagiarism] in push to oust Harvard’s Claudine Gay has links to eugenicists
10 votes -
To fight absenteeism, US schools turn to private companies
22 votes -
OECD urges Denmark to address gender stereotypes in education and suggested introducing quotas to get more women in top management
5 votes -
Bill Ackman and the crusade against free speech
16 votes -
I got my IELTS scores back and I need help
Overall band score 8. What's the next step? I am an Indian and wish to pursue a master's program in the US. Should I prepare for the GRE and apply for spring semester? Total newbie about all of...
Overall band score 8.
What's the next step? I am an Indian and wish to pursue a master's program in the US.
Should I prepare for the GRE and apply for spring semester? Total newbie about all of this university stuff.
Thanks in advance.
10 votes -
Toxic posts on economist job website traced to users from elite universities
29 votes -
Despite support from corporation, Harvard president Claudine Gay under fire over plagiarism allegations
18 votes -
Where do you usually look for courses?
As my school project this year, I'm making a metasearch engine for courses (any type, online/offline, free/paid). I could just add the websites I know myself but school requires us to provide a...
As my school project this year, I'm making a metasearch engine for courses (any type, online/offline, free/paid). I could just add the websites I know myself but school requires us to provide a detailed explanation of how we did "market research", so I'm asking here.
What websites do you usually go to first to when you want to learn something? It should preferably be something which is not exclusive to IT, but those websites are fine as well if they're really good.
9 votes -
What does the oligarch behind the ‘Ivy League antisemitism crisis’ actually want?
22 votes -
The myth of the unemployed US college grad
31 votes -
With one of the lowest rates of bullying in Europe, we speak to teachers, pupils and parents to find out how Denmark is managing to stamp out harassment in schools
17 votes -
What would Sandra Day O’Connor have thought about affirmative action for men?
12 votes -
The red US state brain drain isn’t coming. It’s happening right now.
77 votes -
Is a degree worth it?
29 votes -
Course evaluations are garbage science
23 votes -
What does it mean to friend someone online?
Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily...
Recently my daughter (third grade) has started learning to type at school. It's a Montessori program, so it's a pretty low tech environment overall, which I mention because I don't necessarily expect them to have a nuanced view of technology issues.
One of the typing programs they use is nitrotype.com, which adds a competitive gameplay element. However, it also has mechanism to friend another player. Friends can only communicate with stock phrases, so there's not too much "Internet leakage" beyond being able to choose a username.
I set it up for my daughter on her Linux Chromebook (I whitelist things I want her to have and everything else is blocked at DNS). Seeing her interact with it the first time, I realized that she spends as much time "adding friends" as doing the typing.
On its face, this activity is pretty harmless. But I am worried about the patterns it might be creating for her. I'm worried about her uncritically engaging with the dopamine hit of getting a new friend. Or how it shapes her idea of how many friends she has or where idea of her self worth comes from. Or what she thinks friends are.
So after that long preamble, here are some questions:
- How would you explain "friends" in this context?
- Would you distinguish them from other kinds of friends, either real or virtual?
- Would you attach a moral component to the activity? E.g. that it is good/bad or helpful/harmful
- How would you frame it to the teacher? Not so much in terms of whether or not they should do it in the classroom, but what kinds of conversations should they be having about the friends experience?
- If I'm asking the wrong questions, what questions should I be asking instead?
I'm really interested in seeing the perspectives people have on this. My own ideas are a bit murky, but I will put them down as a comment.
37 votes -
Diplomas for sale: $465, no classes required. Inside one of Louisiana’s unapproved schools.
27 votes -
Population decline in Japan has led to more than 8000 public school closures since 2002
59 votes -
Sweden's schools minister Lotta Edholm aims to limit the profit-making ability of friskolor/free schools in her plans for education reform
8 votes