A Bill to Protect Military Recruiters
I am completing Defending College Heights, a novel about an Irish Catholic family and a college administration in the aftermath of the murder of a U.S. Army recruiter. I started work on Defending because I had connections in the higher education community who were quite knowledgeable on the issues, or had worked closely with military recruiters on campus.
In my research, I went back to pro-military as well as anti-war protests against the Vietnam War. Then, and now, there were confrontations...
Bi-Party Tickets Totally Senseless
I receive a daily news feed from Salon, and for the past two days I have received articles about Obama-Hagel and McCain-Lieberman unity tickets. I have just three words for those who believe such events will happen: it ain't happening.
Abraham Lincoln was the last president to choose a vice president from the other party, when he ran for re-election in 1864. But Lincoln didn't run as a Republican. He ran on a fusion ticket, the National Union Party, comprised of Republicans, northern Democrats...
Caleb's Choice
During the last weekend in April, West Point cadet Caleb Campbell was drafted to serve in a different Army. He was selected in the seventh and final round of the National Football League (NFL) draft.
It is unknown whether Campbell will make the final roster of the Detroit Lions, the team that drafted him. While the Lions have conducted their off-season training activities (OTAs) in May mini-camp, the cut-down process doesn't happen until late July or early August. The chances that a seventh...
Citizens Owe Our Soldiers a New G.I. Bill
I have a novel in editing, a story of a college administration in the aftermath of the murder of a U.S. Army recruiting officer. I chose as my venue a privately supported engineering school, historically friendly to the military that had relied on receiving a considerable amount of tuition revenues through ROTC and the G.I Bill. My fictional school is in trouble: its image has been compromised by the murder, and the military benefits can't cover the full freight anymore.
In researching my...
Comics For Extra Credit
Last week, I was one of the first to see Ironman, the first summer blockbuster movie and the next hero in the Marvel Comics universe to come to the silver screen. I like the movie so much I went to see it again in an early morning matinee.
Although I loved the movie, I must admit that Ironman was not one of the heroes I followed regularly when I was into comics. I can't explain my nine-ten year old tastes, as it's been nearly 40 years, but I would guess that I was drawn more to the art and...
Comics For Extra Credit - Part 2
My first post about comics as an educational aid generated an interesting response from the managing director of Classical Comics, a comic book company in the United Kingdom. Not to be confused with Classic Comics, often teasingly referred to as a study guide for college literature classes here in the State, Classical Comics turns classical literature into high-quality visual graphic novels.
Founded two and a half years ago, Classical Comics first title was Henry the V in November, 2007,...
Comics For Extra Credit - Part 3
I've got Ironman to blame for catching the comic bug over the past few weeks. This weekend I went to see another Marvel character, The Incredible Hulk, be re-introduced to the public. This is the second Hulk movie in five years; the previous Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, more famous for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with its martial artistry and Yo Yo Ma soundtrack, was a complete flop.
The 2008 Hulk has far more promising; for one thing it has a stronger cast. Ed Norton plays scientist Bruce...
Do Graduation Reporting Standards Mean Anything?
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings introduced new proposed regulations to help clarify how schools, districts and states implement policies and business practices under No Child Left Behind.
Among these proposals, Secretary Spellings has asked that high schools be required to use graduation rates that track cohorts of students as they progress through high school. Schools would be required to publish graduation rates for their total student population as well as every group tracked...
Eleanor And Ike: Historical Fiction Parallels Today's Presidential Politics
My first attempt at fiction, The Sex Ed Chronicles, was based on historical events in my hometown and state, but it was a story of fictional characters. However, there are brilliant works of historical fiction that stay truer to history, when they use well-known historical figures in alternate scenarios.
Eleanor and Ike by Robin Gerber is one such work of fiction.
In Eleanor and Ike, the presidential race features no incumbent president or vice president, only the year is 1952 and the former...
Endowment Tax is Unsound Public Policy
I just read in the May 19 Christian Science Monitor that a Massachusetts legislator proposes a 2.5 percent tax on college endowments over $1 billion. The Commonwealth State has nine such institutions including Harvard, MIT, Williams, Boston College, Amherst, Wellesley, Tufts, Smith and Boston University; all of them are among the most selective schools in the United States.
State representative Paul Kujowski, sponsor of the endowment tax legislation believes these institutions have accumulated...
Good Student Credit Should Be A Corporate Social Responsibility
The March 18 USA Today had an interesting cover story in education politics: Colleges' debit card deals draw scrutiny.
The purpose of these deals is to foster computerized cashless transactions on-campus, for example purchasing books, meals or tickets to athletic events through a debit card that doubles as a student ID. The students account balance may include monies received through financial aid. Under the agreements between the banks and schools, the schools receive revenue up to $1...
It Pays to Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys or Giants or Eagles or Redskins
NFL Draft Season is now upon us and if you're a pro football fan you already know about the widespread speculation about where your favorite players are going to plying their trade on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays and, if they're lucky, the weekends in January and February after their college seasons were over.
If you're a pro football fan, you've also listened to analysts discuss the odds of players making it to the big leagues; the lower you're drafted, the worse they get. You've also...
Jon Corzines Compassionate Conservatism
Here in New Jersey, the Garden State, we have a governor who has just proposed to make $500 million in permanent spending cuts, refinance state debt, reduce municipal aid, eliminate two cabinet departments, and introduce tougher standards in math and science education.
These are proposals that you might expect from a Republican, but Jon Corzine is a fiscally conservative, moderate to liberal social issues Democrat. Corzine, a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs, one of the oldest...
Merit Scholarships Should Be Earned Not Handed Out
I've read about the decisions of flagship state universities to increase merit-based, not need-based scholarships to the best-of-best students, the ones who might have chosen an Ivy League school, or other highly selective private college.
This is not an academic strategy as much as it is an economic development strategy; state politicians do not want the best students to take their talents out of state, and possibly never return. However, this is an expensive strategy, as a state university...
More Guidance Counselors Would Help More Children Get Ahead
Before becoming a writer, I spent ten years marketing Web-based job posting and resume tools to college career centers. One outcome of this experience is that I gained considerable appreciation for career counselors and guidance counselors at the high school level.
When I was in high school, I visited my guidance counselor to make my class schedule and research colleges. I had some idea of what I wanted before I came into the guidance office, so I probably benefited less than other students...
Should The High School Military Test Be A Mandatory Test?
High school students interested in serving in our armed forces must take an entrance examination called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The ASVAB is used to not only assess a recruits aptitude for military service, but also help identify their Military Operational Specialty service-speak for job if they choose to serve. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, over 722,000 high school students took the ASVAB during the past school year
The ASVAB is also used as...
The Basics Of The Student Loan Mess
These past weeks there has been talk in the higher education press about private lenders and state guarantee agencies either withdrawing from the government-subsidized student loan market or refusing to underwrite new loans. These financial institutions cite either a cash crunch or a credit crunch, or reductions in the federal interest subsidy as the reasons for pulling back on such loans.
These are all legitimate reasons for the private financial markets to back out. Student loans were never...
Unintended Consequences of True School Choice
I always try to make it a point to see both sides of an education issue, and as Project Runway host Tim Gunn always tells his fashion designer cast, try to make it work.
The concept of true school choice fits that challenge.
The thought behind true school choice is that "dollars follow the child." Parents receive a government-estimated amount of money which represents the cost of educating each of their children, with adjustments for special needs such as special education, English language...
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