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Why the U.S. College Landscape Still Needs HBCUs

It’s no secret that Black, and other non-white, students in the U.S. have always faced an uphill struggle when it comes to education. Even today, the achievement gap between white students and their peers of color is wide – with the latest National Assessment for Educational Progress report What are now called HBCUs were at one time the only route many young scholars could take to obtain a college degree and elevate their lifestyles. This is not to say that these HBCUs were second-rate; the education received at these establishments has always rivaled that of institutions without the same label, …

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Invitational Leadership: An Essential Guide

As today’s school leaders seek to acquire the skills and knowledge that are necessary for effectiveness in current educational institutions, they should know that there are no simple answers or shortcuts to achieving leadership excellence. The most important task is to find the right combination of qualities and characteristics that will consistently provide the leader with the skills and knowledge required to succeed. Purkey and Siegel made an attempt to blend several leadership qualities, values, and principles when they created the invitational leadership theory. They described the model as shifting from emphasizing control and dominance to focusing on connectedness, cooperation, …

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The Japanese Philosophy of Kaizen and U.S. School Reform

Education may very well be the single most important ingredient in allowing a person to achieve success in life. The ascendancy of each individual defines the prosperity of our society; school reform is the backbone of a continuously developing education system. As G. K. Chesterton once said, “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” Education is a continuous process of converting information into knowledge that can help students develop and explore further information. In order to learn, a student must take new information and process it in a way that relates …

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Educational Technologies and Concepts that Every Teacher Should Know: Part IV

Click here to read all the pieces in this series.  By Matthew Lynch In the first three parts of my five-part series, I discussed educational technologies and concepts that every teacher should know about. Today I want to continue that conversation today and look at several more technology features.. Screen readers. This technology is slightly different from text-to-speech. It simply informs students of what is on a screen. A student who is blind or visually impaired can benefit from the audio interface screen readers provide. Students who otherwise struggle to glean information from a computer screen can learn more easily …

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Year-Round Schools: How it Affects Teachers

In my last post, I talked about the ways that students are impacted when they are on a year-round school schedule, instead of having traditional summers off. Today, I want to look at another group impacted by a break from the typical summer-break school calendar: teachers. Does a lack of a season of rejuvenation for educators lead to burnout in the classrooms – and how is pay impacted? Let’s take a look at these, and other implications, of year-round academic calendars and teachers. In this article, we will discuss how year-round schools affect teachers. No Summers Off Every job comes …

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HBCU Closures: A Reversible Trend?

Though their original purpose has evolved, the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities is still a vital one in America’s education system. As more HBCUs start to look like the rest of the secondary education institutions in the country, they must find ways to blend tradition with progressive thought in terms of diversity and education for all. The rich history of HBCUs is not to be dismissed; in fact, it is those roots that make them a stable part of the U.S. higher education system. Except when that stability falters. Lately it seems there are just too many HBCUs …

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High School Dropout Rates: A Crisis?

It seems that the phrase high school dropout is often accompanied with the word crisis. Depending who you ask, kids everywhere are giving up on education before they obtain a diploma and the situation has never been worse. But is it really that bad? Is the state of the high school dropout rate in the U.S. deserving of the “crisis” label? This week, I’m going to delve into the statistics and facts of high school dropout rates in the U.S., where the current generation stands historically, what is driving contemporary numbers, who is at the highest risk for dropping out …

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Is the U.S. Dropout Rate Really a Crisis?

By Matthew Lynch It seems that the phrase “high school dropout” is often accompanied with the word “crisis.” Depending who you ask, kids everywhere are giving up on education before they obtain a diploma and the situation has never been worse. But is it really that bad? Is the state of the high school dropout rate in the U.S. deserving of the “crisis” label? Let’s start by delving into the statistics and facts of high school dropout rates in the U.S., where the current generation stands historically, what is driving contemporary numbers, who is at the highest risk for dropping …

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Teachers: How to Use Google Drive

By Catlin Tucker For teachers who are just getting started with Google, Google Drive can be intimidating! In preparation for a Google training, I’ve put together a short explanation of Google Drive and its basic features. Although an increasing number of people have a Gmail account, I run into teachers all the time who are not sure what Google Drive is or how it works. Google Drive is like a big virtual bucket! It’s where everything you create with Google apps–documents, forms, sheets, slides, drawing–are stored. And unlike a traditional word processing document, you never need to click “Save”…EVER.  Your work …

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Standardized Testing for Colleges: A Necessary Evil?

Standardized testing in K-12 education is a perennial hot button issue. Proponents feel that measuring knowledge in these rigid ways helps lift the entire educational system. Critics say the measurements do nothing but encourage “teach to the test” methods and narrow the scope of what instructors are able to teach if they want to have acceptable test results. These arguments are nothing new, but they are now seeing a new audience. What if the same principles of K-12 standardized testing were applied to colleges and universities? Americans spend over $460 billion on higher educational pursuits every year, yet there is …

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