“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”
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On 09/22/2012,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, society,
by Daniel Christian
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
On 09/18/2012,
in ethics, face-to-face, hearts -- matters of the heart, online learning, policy, strategy, student-related,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The wetakeyourclass.com website below is very disturbing in terms of the questions it raises — though such questions and activities are certainly not limited to what occurs in the online classroom, as evidenced by The Shadow Scholar (from The Chronicle by Ed Dante) where a man confessed to writing ~5,000 scholarly papers for students, including grad students.
Questions:
- Should the owners of this site go to jail? Or is this just capitalism gone awry?
- Does this business make a profit? If so, why and what does that say?
- Is this type of thing happening for just a handful of people out there? How would we know? Can the turnitin.com’s of the world detect/stop this?
- If their services are in demand, should that inform or influence any differences in the strategies or pedagogies we utilize within higher education? Do we need to re-evaluate what’s really being achieved and not achieved? That is, if employers didn’t look to a college degree, would students come to learn anyway or would they be gone by morning?
- What, if anything, does it say about students’ ethics? Matters of the heart?
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Look at some of the “services,” “benefits,” and messages being offered therein:
- We take your online classes for you and you get an A
Underlying message: We’ll help you get that piece of paper so you can move on to what really counts. (Don’t worry about not knowing anything…you won’t have to prove yourself later on…and never mind about your work ethic, this is a one-time-cutting-the-corners type of decision, right? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?!) - Life is too short to spend on classes you have no interest in
- Give us a deadline and we will meet it!
Underlying message: Corporations outsource many things, why shouldn’t you? (Never mind that learning should be your core business and should not be outsourced.)
How about you all, what are some questions that this type of thing raises in your minds?
On 09/14/2012,
in business, career development, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, education reform, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, K-12 related, student-related, surviving, United States, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
On 09/14/2012,
in budgets, cost of getting a degree, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, K-12 related, Michigan, society,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
Back in November 2005, when this year’s graduates were in sixth grade, the superintendent of Kalamazoo’s public schools, Janice M. Brown, shocked the community by announcing that unnamed donors were pledging to pay the tuition at Michigan’s public colleges, universities and community colleges for every student who graduated from the district’s high schools. All of a sudden, students who had little hope of higher education saw college in their future. Called the Kalamazoo Promise, the program — blind to family income levels, to pupils’ grades and even to disciplinary and criminal records — would be the most inclusive, most generous scholarship program in America.
Also see:
From DSC:
- I would like to thank the anonymous donors who created and continue to sustain the Kalamazoo Promise; and to recognize their humility and service to society. They didn’t announce their gifts with trumpets; rather, they quietly gave without wanting to put their names to these enormous, life-changing gifts. What a great example for many of the nation’s top 1%-5% to follow! It’s amazing what generous hearts can do. The LORD knows who did it and continues to do it.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
On 08/30/2012,
in attention, economics, health, hearts -- matters of the heart, K-12 related, learning, learning theories, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
More than 16 million U.S. children currently live in food insecure households, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These families too often confront a painful choice—pay bills, provide shelter, or put food on the table. To address this increasing need, nonprofits, foundations, government, and corporations must work together to make sure more children have access to the safety net programs that can provide them with the food they need to thrive.
— Collaboration and Partnerships: The Path to Ending Child Hunger
Neil Nicoll, YMCA of the USA – Posted August 27, 2012
Also see:
“I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”
On 08/24/2012,
in Daniel S. Christian, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships,
by Daniel Christian
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping, ”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.
On 08/24/2012,
in art, drama/theater, faith, geography / geology, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, K-12 related, languages and translation, pedagogy, real-world assignments, relationships, religion, science, teaching & learning, technology (general),
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
The site presents teaching examples—for both elementary and secondary classrooms—from a range of subjects: art, cooking, dance, technology, drama, English, environment, geography, history, technology, math, foreign/second language, music, physical education, health, Bible class and science. (There are also categories titled “teacher,” “tests” and “topics.”)
Each example leads off with a question: “What if a grammar lesson challenged selfishness?” “What if success in math depended upon forgiveness?” “What if history could inspire students to love their city?” The site also provides tabs labeled “The Approach,” “Training,” “Big Picture,” and “Information,” where teachers can learn how to apply what they’ve learned in their classrooms.
“The website helps teachers ask key questions and make strategic decisions, not only about what to teach but about how to teach,” said Matt Walhout, Calvin’s dean for research and scholarship. “It relates specific topics like language, history, and math to the overarching Christian principles of faith, hope, and love.”
Also see:
On 08/20/2012,
in business, corporate / business world, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, policy, political science, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Key findings from Executive Excess 2012: The CEO Hands in Uncle Sam’s Pocket — from the Institute for Policy Studies by Sarah Anderson, Chuck Collins, Scott Klinger, Sam Pizzigati
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Key findings:
- Of last year’s 100 highest-paid U.S. corporate chief executives, 26 took home more in CEO pay than their companies paid in federal income taxes, up from the 25 we noted in last year’s analysis. Seven firms made the list in both 2011 and 2010.
- The CEOs of these 26 firms received $20.4 million in average total compensation last year. That’s a 23 percent increase over the average for last year’s list of 2010’s tax dodging executives
- The four most direct tax subsidies for excessive executive pay cost taxpayers an estimated $14.4 billion per year—$46 for every American man, woman, and child. That amount could also cover the annual cost of hiring 211,732 elementary-school teachers or creating 241,593 clean-energy jobs.
From DSC:
Considering our corporations are sitting on $1.X trillion, where is our nation’s heart? Priorities? Care for fellow mankind? It seems the “every man for himself” philosophy and manner of living is alive and well here in America. My alma mater would be proud — it’s their philosophy exactly.
On 08/16/2012,
in 21st century, business side of he, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, hearts -- matters of the heart, publishing, technology (general),
by Daniel Christian
Key quote/lesson from “How Barnes & Noble destroyed itself” — from fool.com by John Maxfield
An unnecessary tragedy
What makes B&N’s story tragic from a shareholder’s and book-lover’s perspective is that it wasn’t inevitable. The company would be in an entirely different position if its leadership hadn’t pooh-poohed online retail in the late 1990s, when the now-dominant Amazon was in its infancy. Consider this from its 1998 annual report: “Although it is clear the World Wide Web, with its profound possibilities, will become a major component of the future of bookselling and publishing, we believe retail bookstores will remain the foundation of our industry . . . shopping and browsing in a bookstore is an irreplaceable experience, and it is woven securely into the fabric of our American culture [emphasis added].”
From DSC:
I love going to B&N; sipping some coffee and reading a book. So don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the physical experience of going to a bookstore. But the lesson for higher ed — as well as for the corporate world — is that technology cannot be pooh-poohed and shoved aside. Those who do so will be very sorry that they chose that route. There can be danger in pursuing the status quo.
How about your organization…is there solid representation of technology on your board/executive suite/leadership team?
My last thought here relates to my posting What happens in our hearts has very practical, relevant implications in our daily lives
In 2009, the company paid its chairman of the board, Len Riggio, nearly $600 million for B&N College, an amalgamation of campus-based bookstores that controlled the rights to the parent company’s trade name and was then owned by Riggio and his wife.
At the time, it looked like a classic covetous overreach by an executive to extract capital without selling shares. When all that’s left of B&N is a Harvard case study, however, my guess is that this blatant display of avarice and disregard for minority shareholders will be characterized more ominously as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
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Also relevant here:
- ReadWriteWeb DeathWatch: Barnes & Noble — from readwriteweb.com by Cormac Foster
On 08/07/2012,
in future, global / globalization, Google, hearts -- matters of the heart, political science, robotics, society, visualizing information,
by Daniel Christian
13-foot 12,000-pound mechanized robot suit now for sale in Japan — from venturebeat.com by John Koetsier
Also see:
and:
From DSC:
These items cause me to reflect yet again on the state of our hearts...as it doesn’t take much to think of the next steps in terms of using such robots as instruments of war. Do you think I’m stretching a bit too far here? How about after considering the following interactive visualization that Google just created?
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Addendums:
- [On 8/28/12] How about after reading This week in bots: The robots we build to kill for us — from fastcompany.com by Kit Eaton?
- [On 10/4/12] Homeland Security wants drones for public safety, doesn’t want to tell public about them — from spectrum.ieee.org by Evan Ackerman