Good Professors Train Good Students

The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article about a study from Penn State that indicates students are more likely to return if they have professors who teach well:

Good teaching and exposure to students from diverse backgrounds are some of the strongest predictors of whether freshmen return for a second year of college and improve their critical-thinking skills, say two prominent researchers.

Patrick T. Terenzini, a professor of higher education at Pennsylvania State University, and Ernest T. Pascarella, a co-director of the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education at the University of Iowa, spoke to an audience of chief academic and fund-raising officers convened by the Council of Independent Colleges here on Sunday.

The two men are co-authors of a highly influential book, How College Affects Students, and they sought on Sunday to synthesize what recent research says about student learning, while also weighing in on recent controversies in higher-education research.

Mr. Pascarella based his observations on the findings from the first year of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, which followed thousands of students at 19 liberal-arts colleges. It recorded the background information of entering freshmen, asked them about their experiences, recorded their outcomes after their first year, and collected the same information again after their fourth year.

Good teaching was not defined by test results. Instead, its attributes were identified on a nine-item scale, which included student appraisals of how well the teacher organized material, used class time, explained directions, and reviewed the subject matter. [emphasis mine]

The likelihood that freshmen returned to college for their sophomore year increased 30 percent when students observed those teaching practices in the classroom. And it held true even after controlling for their backgrounds and grades. "These are learnable skills that faculty can pick up," Mr. Pascarella said.

Two-Tiered Justice System Operating in Milwaukee

In his new book Liberty and Justice for Some, which I do not have the money to buy or the time to read at the moment, Glenn Greenwald writes about what he calls "Two-Tiered Justice System" of America.  At the higher tier, inhabited by political and financial elites, promises scant if any charges or prosecutions relating to serious and damaging crimes, such as the creation of the Bush Torture Regime and the events that led up to the Financial Collapse of 2008.  Most other people, including me and everyone else I know, fall into the lower tier of the Justice System.   If most people are charged with a crime, they have the largest, most well-funded criminal justice system in the world bearing down on them; which includes district attorneys who can and do break the law and violate constitutional rights with few, if any, legal ramifications, a brutal punishment-oriented prison system, juries that assume a defendant's guilt before the trial begins, and a broken, underfunded public defense system.

For people who read up on issues like criminal justice, Greenwald's point is not news.  And from the reviews I've read, his focus on elites, both political and financial, misses what is one of the worst routine miscarriages of justice in the country: the relative immunity of police officers.  Unless the crime is particularly violent and heinous, such as the shooting death of Kathyrn Johnston or the New Orleans Police murders on the Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina, police officers almost never face criminal prosecution for the crimes they commit, which often include assault and battery, false arrest, and depriving citizens of their constitutional rights.

Close to home, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently finished a two year long investigation into Milwaukee police who commit crimes.  And the picture the investigation paints is not pretty:

Torture Does Not Work

Jennifer S. Bryson, a former US interpreter and interrogator, wrote an article in Public Discourse that attacks the US Government's use of torture during the interrogations of terrorism suspects.  She joins the ranks of other experienced interrogators, such as Glenn Carle and Ali Soufan, who argue that the torture of detainees not only violates the law, but gathers inaccurate information that actually hurts the intelligence community.  Bryson's article, which I highly recommend every one reads, goes further to explain why torture during interrogations dehumanizes both the interrogator and the detainee, and why that dehumanization hurts the process of gathering useful intelligence:

Music Mondays

The move into my new apartment is almost complete.  The internet is connected and I unpacked almost all of my boxes.  However, I am in Michigan for until Wednesday, so I will still post sparingly until I return to Madison. 

That aside, here is this week's music brought to you by Ludo:

 

Moving

I am in the process of moving to a new apartment, and most likely will not update until I am settled into my new apartment.  The internet connection will be set up on August 16th.

Equating Religious Texts with Religious Practice

Howard Friedman over at Religion Clause has a post that directed me towards an article titled Behind an Anti-Sharia Push about the rise of anti-Sharia laws proposed in around two dozen states.  The entire article is worth reading, as it exposes how the anti-Sharia movement is not a grassroots movement, but a  well funded campaign by ultra-right wing conservatives seemingly hell-bent on crushing Islam in America.  Besides the obvious xenophobia, what irks me is when the article reports that a Tennessee State Representative named Rick Womick introduced an Anti-Sharia bill in the Tennessee legislature after reading the Quran

Tennessee’s latest woes include high unemployment, continuing foreclosures and a battle over collective-bargaining rights for teachers. But when a Republican representative took the Statehouse floor during a recent hearing, he warned of a new threat to his constituents’ way of life: Islamic law.

The representative, a former fighter pilot named Rick Womick, said he had been studying the Koran. He declared that Shariah, the Islamic code that guides Muslim beliefs and actions, is not just an expression of faith but a political and legal system that seeks world domination. “Folks,” Mr. Womick, 53, said with a sudden pause, “this is not what I call ‘Do unto others what you’d have them do unto you.’” [emphasis mine]

Wisconsin Recall Elections are Today

The recall elections for the Wisconsin legislature are in full swing today, which place six Republicans at risk to lose their seats.  Two more Democrats will face recall next week.  As the article notes, the out-of-state, third-party money fund the recall efforts at an unprecedented rate from both conservative and liberal groups:

Cash flowing into the recall elections from third-party interest groups already has approached $30 million, election watchdogs say, and total spending by third-party groups and candidates could top $40 million.

That total would double spending on all 116 of last fall's state legislative races combined. About $19.25 million was spent in those races for 17 Senate seats and 99 Assembly seats, which included 312 candidates on the primary ballot and 225 candidates in the November 2010 general election, said Mike McCabe, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign executive director. 

The money spent so far in this summer's nine recalls — one already has been decided — is believed to have already broken Wisconsin's record for state Senate and Assembly races set in 2008, when candidates and groups spent about $20 million on 115 elections.

Wisconsin State Website Leads You to Jesus

The Isthmus broke the story of how the Wisconsin state website contains a link to a page for Care Net.   

A new link to a crisis pregnancy center on Wisconsin.gov, Wisconsin's state website, has led several area advocates to accuse Gov. Scott Walker's administration of blurring the lines between church and state.

The link, found under the "Family Services" subsection of "Health and Safety," leads to Care Net, an evangelical anti-abortion group that runs some 1,100 crisis pregnancy centers throughout the nation, including the Elizabeth House on Madison's east side. According to Care Net's website, its ultimate aim "is to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ."

It also claims to be a place where "those struggling with past abortions are finding God's healing and forgiveness."

Now, imagine if the same website, with the same exact services offered, instead claimed its aim was to share the true word of God as told by the last prophet, Muhammad.

Music Mondays

Like most people who listen to an unhealthy amount of Tom Waits, I plan to have this song played at my funeral:

A New Blog Network

Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars, PZ Meyer of Pharyngula, Digital Cuttlefish, and others created a new Blog Network called Free Thought Blogs.  Although the new site is experiencing a few hiccups that their new server should solve, I highly recommend going over there to take a look.

You Have To Pay It Somehow...

This does not surprise me:

Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.

The past few years have taken an especially brutal toll on the plans and expectations of 20-somethings. As unemployment rates tick steadily higher, starting salaries have plummeted. Meanwhile, according to Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a professor of psychology at Clark University, about 85 percent of the class of 2011 will likely move back in with their parents during some period of their post-college years, compared with 40 percent a decade ago.

Besides moving back home, many 20-somethings are beginning their adult lives shouldering substantial amounts of student loan debt.  According to Mark Kantrowitz, who publishes the financial aid websites Fastweb.com and Finaid.org, while the average 2011 graduate finished school with about $27,200 in debt, many are straining to pay off significantly greater loans.

On the Subject of the National Budget...

This certainly is not the best deficit reduction plan, but it is the most awesome:

Student Loans Will Own My Soul Part 2

Because what this country needs is more student debt:

As part of the savings to trim the deficits, Congress would scrap a special kind of federal loan for graduate students. So-called subsidized student loans don't charge students any interest on the principal of student loans until six months after students graduated. 

A graduate student who borrows the maximum of $65,500 in subsidized loans would owe $207 a month in interest payments over the course of 10 years. But with a subsidized loan, the government pays that $207 each month the student attends school until six months after graduation...

A graduate student who borrows the maximum of $65,500 in subsidized loans would owe $207 a month in interest payments over the course of 10 years. But with a subsidized loan, the government pays that $207 each month the student attends school until six months after graduation. 

This change would shift some $125 billion in loan volume over to unsubsidized loans and would cost students $18.1 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

At least most of the money saved through the cuts to subsidized student loans will go towards funding Pell Grants, but the cuts will still leave the Pell Grant program short some $1.3 billion dollars.  

Music Mondays

During the rare times I feel light-hearted, Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" usually appears on my playlist:

 

Victory Against the Obama DOJ in Two Espionage Cases

The invaluable Glenn Greenwald writes that the Obama DOJ suffered serious blows to two of their espionage prosecutions; one against former NSA executive Thomas Drake (see details about his prosecution) and the other a subpoena  to compel New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal his confidential source for his book State of War. 

Most of the charges against Drake, who originally faced up to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information, were dropped on June 9th, which left Drake to plead guilty to one misdemeanor of exceeding his authorized use of a government computer.  As Greenwald writes, the U.S. District Judge, Richard Bennett, blasted the DOJ for their sloppy and drawn-out prosecution and refused to acquiesce to the DOJ's demand that the court fine Drake for $50,000.  Judge Bennett acknowledged that the DOJ already destroyed Drake's life through their prosecution, writing:

PBS Post: American Experience - The Stonewall Uprising

For almost two years now, about half of the television programs I watch come from PBS.  Mostly, it is a mixture of NOVA, Frontline, Nature, and American Experience; all of which are available for online viewing here.

So, I have decided every once in a while that I will post a link to one of their videos available online and share my thoughts.

The first video I would like to share is from American Experience about the Stonewall Uprising and the start of the gay rights movement.

Student Loans Will Own My Soul

Among the other statistics in the article, The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that graduate students in master's programs in particular are relying more on student loans to finance their education.  

It is a problem that is likely to grow with budget cuts, especially for us in the humanities.  As a soon-to-be second year MA student, by the this time next year I will owe the government nearly $30,000 in student loans.  And if I am unable to secure funding for the year after next through either a fellowship or as a TA or PA, that number will grow.  Especially the Wisconsin state government is has slashed $125 million in funding from the UW system and has raised tuition 5.5% this upcoming school year alone, with other rises in tuition in the coming years likely.  

I am not alone.  Of the other people I know who are in school for graduate degrees, many of them have had to take out some sort of student loan to pay for tuition or to make ends meet financially.  Luckily, I was able to avoid taking out any student loans while I was an undergrad, and have avoided the situation of two of my friends who both owe over $100,000 in loans.  Most of those come from unsubsidized loans, which accrue interest even when you are in school.  

More than the weak housing market, the national debt ceiling, or credit card debt, student loans are the elephant in the room that could easily ruin the economic future for my generation.  Thankfully I own a tent and a hiking backpack, so I am at least prepared for life in the Hoovervilles. 

Sexual Abuse in American Theravada Temples

This is disgusting:

The meeting took place at Wat Dhammaram, a cavernous Theravada Buddhist temple on the southwest edge of Chicago. A tearful 12-year-old told three monks how another monk had turned off the lights during a tutoring session, lifted her shirt and kissed and fondled her breasts while pressing against her, according to a lawsuit. 

Shortly after that meeting, one of the monks sent a letter to the girl's family, saying the temple's monastic community had resolved the matter, the lawsuit says.

The "wrong doer had accepted what he had done," wrote P. Boonshoo Sriburin, and within days would "leave the temple permanently" by flying back to Thailand.

I recommend reading the whole article, as it talks about how the monks responsible for the sexual assaults are able to avoid capture and sentencing, as well as the lack of accountability coming from the Sangha officials in both America and the country of the temple's origin.

New Site, Same Site

I moved my blog from its original blogger site to connect it to my newer Google account, and hopefully update it more often.  To any of my old readers who followed me here, welcome back.  And to any new readers, welcome.