Scholars Culture Point Opportunity

I have heard from many of you that, although you have earned a lot of Scholars Culture Points, you haven't gotten around to reporting them.  Now that it is break, this is the time to sit down with a nice cup of something warming and report those events.  But that is not the point of this post.

Culture Point without Reporting Opportunity
The Controversial Coffee Conversations are fun, but it can be a bit intimidating to talk around all those people, some of whom you see every day in the hall.  Here is a proposal:

Find a TED Talk video on a topic you care about.  Organize a viewing and discussion with at least 3 other people (at least one other Scholar).  When that Scholar reports the discussion for one Culture Point and reports you as the organizer, you will AUTOMATICALLY earn two Culture Points (because you organized it).  Of course, you do have to get one of the attendees to report their participation.

NPR.org - Three U.S. Economists Win Nobel Prize

Three U.S. Economists Win Nobel Prize Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won the 2013 economics prize for their work on developing new methods to study trends in asset markets. Fama, 74, and Hansen, 60, are associated with the University of Chicago. Shiller, 67, is a professor at Yale University. Read this story This email was sent by: NPR,1111 N. Capitol St. NE Washington, DC, 20002, United States.

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NPR.org - Can You Pass This -TE ST-?

Can You Pass This -TE ST-? Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the consecutive letters T-E-S-T. Specifically, the first word will end with -TE and the second word will start ST-. For example, given "sheer force," you would say "brute strength." Read this story This email was sent by: NPR,1111 N. Capitol St. NE Washington, DC, 20002, United States.

Not Enough Work

The SCH 101 class is turning in all their writing via blogs.  I try to read every post within 48 hours of when it is turned in.  I comment on the ones that engage me, so if you aren't getting comments, you are failing Dr. Earl's requirement of entertainment.  Last night I read a blog that got me to thinking about the class and how we learn (you can find it and are encouraged to comment on it if you are inspired).

In this country college students are given a lot of busy work to help them learn.  They work homework problems, turn them in, and those are part of their grade.  They write short papers, turn them in, and those are part of their grade.  In this country we even give course credit for class participation.  This is very different from British and European Universities.  If you were at Oxford, your entire grade is based on an exam you take at the end of the term.  There are lectures to attend, problems to work, etc., but none of that is part of your grade.  Their quote is "Choosing the right subject is crucial. Like a good book, a good subject is one you can’t put down."

SCH 101 is a class where you receive education proportional to the amount of effort you put in.  If you are working on a subject that inspires you, it is up to you to find out more information about it.  If you are not inspired, find a justice subject that does inspire you and research that.  As a reminder, you are to be working on achieving the goals and objectives of IS 101.  I would say we have been working a lot on Goal 3, but I would like to see a few students show more work on Goals 2 and 4.

Can you coast through SCH 101 without putting in effort - yes, but the only person you are hurting is yourself.  Well, and the people around you who are frustrated with your lack of effort.  Do you want to improve your writing, think deeply before you write.  Back up your opinions and arguments with data and facts.  Use charts and graphs if applicable.  If you are using the internet to research, include links on your blog.

Affirmative Action

This week SCH 101 has been discussing issues of academic justice.  In particular, I was in a group on Monday that was discussing Affirmative Action.  There seems to be some misunderstanding among the general population of first year students that issues of gender and race discrimination are from the past and are not occurring currently.  I beg to differ.

The median salaries of women are still significantly lower than those of women.  The median salaries of blacks and Hispanics are still significantly lower than those of white women.

The unemployment rate for blacks is more than twice that for whites and that number has not changed significantly in the last 50 years.  That is right, there has been NO PROGRESS in 50 years.  Why should we care?  Because the more people in good jobs, the more money people spend, the more money is paid in taxes, the lower the debt, the deficit, the better the economy, the more jobs are available, etc.  How could we make this economic miracle?

Want to increase employment?  Increase education, or join the armed forces.  Of course,  now that we are transitioning to peace-time armed forces it is becoming much more difficult to join up.

What does this have to do with affirmative action?  Whites and Asians are graduating from college at a higher percentage than they are in population.  Blacks and Hispanics are much less likely to graduate from college.

Is it possible?  Well, I am ready to predict that women are about to take over the job market that require a college degree?  Why?

The men are not going to college and they are not continuing on to masters degrees.