Scholarship Spotlight: Lingnan University, Hong Kong; Liberal Arts Scholarship, $15,000

University:Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Level: Undergraduate; Arts, Business and Social Sciences

Scholarship Description:
To attract overseas students to our University so as to create a vibrant international environment on campus, the University offers scholarships to support outstanding overseas students to pursue undergraduate studies at our University.

Overseas Student Scholarships of HK$120,000 (i.e. about US$15,385) each per academic year will be awarded to successful applicants, covering tuition fee, hostel and other academic and living expenses. Each scholarship is offered on an annual renewable basis and is tenable for a period of up to 3 years, subject to continued outstanding academic performance.

Requirements:
Non-local applicants (other than Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland citizens) should have attained at a recognized post-secondary institution outside Hong Kong an equivalent qualification to the Admission Requirements of the University, including a degree, an associate degree or a diploma awarded by a recognized post-secondary institution; OR an International Baccalaureate Diploma; OR satisfactory completion of the first year in a four-year undergraduate curriculum or the first year of an associate degree program of a recognized institution; OR satisfactory completion of two years of full-time study in a post-Form Five institution, e.g. a technical institute; OR other equivalent qualifications which the University will consider on a case-by-case basis.

Non-local applicants may be required to achieve a minimum of Grade C in English in the GCE O-Level or GCSE Examination or an equivalent public examination; or a TOEFL score of 213 in the computer-based test, or 550 in the paper-based test, or 79 in the internet-based test; or an IELTS overall band score of 5.5.

Scholarship Application Deadline: March 31, 2011

Further Scholarship Information and Application:
http://www.ln.edu.hk/admissions/da/intl/scholarships/background.php

Please click here ( pdf size 1.98 MB) to download a leaflet on the Scholarships.

ESMT, Germany, Offers Exciting MBA Scholarship/Fellowship Opportunities for MBA, Executive MBA Programs (Full Tuition)

Supported by 25 corporate founders, European School of Management and Technology is able to offer substantial scholarships to support students. ESMT offers a number of merit-based scholarships for applicants.

Scholarships are allocated on the basis of intellectual excellence, evidence of personal and professional achievement and evidence of strong leadership potential as well as superior interpersonal skills. The scholarships are restricted to self-funded candidates and will be accounted for against the applicant�s program fees. Applicants must meet ESMT�s general admission requirements.

Following are a few of the scholarship opportunities:

Tagesspiegel Diversity Scholarship
Global Women�s Scholarship
ESMT Americas Scholarship
ESMT Central and Eastern Europe Scholarship
ESMT Africa Scholarship
ESMT Middle East and Central Asia Scholarship
ESMT Asia Scholarship
ESMT Academic Excellence Scholarship
ESMT Academic Excellence Scholarship for Women
QS ESMT Diversity Scholarships
Talentia Scholarships
Kofi Annan Business School Foundation

Full-time MBA Application:
Apply online (MBA)

Further Information:
Info Downloads
Info Events

Full-time MBA assistance:
Stephanie Kluth
Head of Admissions Office
Phone: +49 (0) 30 212 31-1400
Fax: +49 (0) 30 212 31-1409
mba@esmt.org

ESMT Offers Exciting MBA Scholarship/Fellowship Opportunities: Kofi Annan Fellowship, full tuition and fees.

Description:
The Kofi Annan Business School Foundation provides fellowships for talented and motivated students from developing countries that allow them to obtain a bachelor�s or master�s degree in Europe at one of the academic partners of the Kofi Annan Business School Foundation. Partner schools are ESMT, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (Belgium), and Hogeschool Utrecht (Netherlands).

Program: Full-time MBA

Scholarships available: up to three

Eligibility:
Applicants must be resident in one of the UN�s Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), or Palestine.
Please use these links to find a list of countries qualifying:
Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs)

Value:
Full tuition and fees of � 38,000 and a monthly stipend for living expenses

Conditions:
Fellows are expected to commit to returning to their home country or region to participate in the development of the local or regional economy.

For more information:
Download brochure
Website: http://www.esmt.org/info/scholarships

Imagine a nation with excellent schools

Imagine that 25 years ago that nation's schools were below international averages in math and sciences

Imagine that nation had large differences between schools with affluent students versus those with poorer students

Imagine that nation now has almost no difference in performance between schools with affluent students and those with poorer students

Imagine in that nation teachers are so respected that the best students compete to become teachers, not just for two years, but for a career

Imagine that that nation's schools are now internationally respected

Imagine that our nation might actually be able to learn from what that nation has done

Stop imagining. I'm talking about Finland, as you can read in a piece in today's Boston Globe, by Pasi Sahlberg, titled Learning from Finland and subtitled How one of the world�s top educational performers turned around.

Sahlberg is now director general of the Center for International Mobility and Cooperation at Finland�s Ministry of Education and Culture. Previously he served as a Washington-based World Bank education specialist. Having lived in the US, he is well-aware of the problems of the US educational system. He is also knowledgeable about international comparisons of schools, for example, the recent PISA (The Program for International Student Assessment) by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), in which yet again Finland was the top ranked nation (ignore the results from Shanghai, which are (a) not typical of China, and (b) where students spend several hours daily in intensive test preparation AFTER a full day of school). Finland was also highly ranked in a international study by McKinsey and Company.

Finland used to have serious problems in school performance, as Sahlberg acknowledges.

Today, as the most recent PISA study proves, Finland is one of the few nations that have accomplished both a high quality of learning and equity in learning at the same time. The best school systems are the most equitable � students do well regardless of their socio-economic background. Finally, Finland should interest US educators because Finns have employed very distinct ideas and policies in reforming education, many the exact opposite of what�s being tried in the United States.

The Finns examined what other countries were doing, and as Sahlberg also writes

The secret of Finnish educational success is that in the 20th century Finns studied and emulated such advanced nations as Sweden, Germany, and the United States. Finns adopted some education policies from elsewhere but also avoided mistakes made by these leading education performers.

We'll talk about the mistakes Finland is avoiding shortly.

First, some argue that Finland is nowhere near as diverse as the US. Sahlberg acknowledges that is true, but also points out that it is becoming increasingly diverse in recent years, with the implication that the additional diversity is not affecting the performance of its schools. Further, as many have pointed out Finland has a far lower level of childhood poverty than does the US, well under 5%b as compared to ours at more than 20%. Yet in Finland differences between schools with substantial numbers of poor children - primarily in rural areas - now perform as well as those with more affluent students in the urban areas. Sahlberg refers to the results of the most recent PISA, where

The best school systems are the most equitable � students do well regardless of their socio-economic background.

.

There are some real differences in the approach that Finland took to achieve the results which now rank it so highly. For example,

Finnish children never take a standardized test. Nor are there standardized tests used to compare teachers or schools to each other. Teachers, students, and parents are all involved in assessing and also deciding how well schools, teachers, or students do what they are supposed to do.

How do politicians and administrators determine how well schools are doing? They turn to

sample-based learning tests which place no pressure on schools, and by research targeted to understand better how schools work.

There is also a culture where parents think teachers who work closely with them "are the best judges of how well their children are learning in schools."

And teachers are respected.

Finland has created an inspiring and respectful environment in which teachers work. All teachers are required to have higher academic degrees that guarantee both high-level pedagogical skills and subject knowledge. Parents and authorities regard teachers with the same confidence they do medical doctors. Indeed, Finns trust public schools more than any other public institution, except the police. The fact that teachers in Finland work as autonomous professionals and play a key role in curriculum planning and assessing student learning attracts some of the most able and talented young Finns into teaching careers.

Stop there for a moment and consider how different our approach is here. We have a well-established pattern of denigrating public schools and teachers. We have notable voices - Bill Gates, for example - arguing that teachers getting advanced degrees is a waste of time and resources. We have a concerted effort to delegitimize public schools, with moves for vouchers, charter schools run by for profit organizations, hedge funds seeing how turning to charters can lead to profits for their investors, etc. Yet Finns trust public schools more than any other public institution, except the police. Of course, we also don't trust the police in the US, which may indicate some real cultural differences that do not work to our advantage.

There is another important difference from what we have been seeing, because in Finland

School principals, district education leaders, and superintendents are, without exception, former teachers. Leadership is therefore built on a strong sense of professional skills and community.

Here we have the newly announced initiative of the George W. Bush institute to train 50,000 people with no prior educational work experience as principals running school, we have the effort5s of Eli Broad and others to take business executives and train them as superintendents running district. At a more basic level, we have a variety of programs, of which Teach for America is the most notable, giving young people 5 weeks of intensive training and then placing them in classrooms, with a commitment that is not required to be longer than 2 years. I might add to what Sahlberg writes that in Finland it takes about 2 years of training under decreasing levels of supervision and increasing assumption of responsibility before one is fully responsible for her own classroom.

Sahlberg offers some suggestion for what the US could learn from the Finns. He argues strongly against using choice and competition as drivers for educational improvement, noting

None of the best-performing education systems relies primarily on them. Indeed, the Finnish experience shows that consistent focus on equity and cooperation � not choice and competition � can lead to an education system where all children learn well. Paying teachers based on students� test scores or converting public schools into private ones (through charters or other means) are ideas that have no place in the Finnish repertoire for educational improvement.

He also notes that Finland provides teacher candidates with a government-paid university education - remember that most teacher candidates in this nation have to pay for their own education which can leave them with substantial debt before they begin to earn incomes. Finland provides more support when they move into their classrooms and treats teaching as a respected profession. As he notes,

As long as teachers are not trusted in their work and are not respected as professionals, young talent in the United States is unlikely to seek teaching as a lifelong career.

Please, note carefully the words teaching as a lifelong career. Two years as a means of enhancing one's resume for other purposes is not the same thing, and does not benefit either the students being taught or the nation as a whole, despite news coverage to the contrary.

Sahlberg is blunt - he tells us that "Americans should admit that there is much to learn" from the educational systems of nations like Finland behind whom the US now lags. He thinks it is possible, closing with these words:

With America�s �can do�� mentality and superior knowledge base in educational improvement, you could shift course before it�s too late.

Let me add one other difference between Finland and the US that Sahlberg does not address. The teaching force in Finland is 100% unionized. Unionization is not in and of itself an obstacle to excellence in education. We should remind those who seek to use things like America lagging in comparisons like PISA not to use unions as an excuse, especially when states with unionized teaching and general work forces tend to outperform schools in right to work states.

The role of unions is different, to be sure. The culture is different, and not just in the respect given unions in Finland, including teachers unions.

Not only does Finland not have the high degree of childhood poverty we have in the US, they also have a far more substantial social safety net, starting with income security for families and medical care for all, two things sorely lacking in this nation.

Thus while I strongly advise we listen to what Salhberg has to offer us about how we can reform our schools, we should also bear in mind that we will not fix all the problems of learning until we are also willing to address the continuing inequities in this nation. Fixing the schools will be insufficient. I note that at a conference earlier this year Richard Rothstein of the Economic Policy Institute said that we would be better served taking the money that we could spend reducing the principal/teacher ratio to a reasonable level where you could evaluate teachers, and get much more bang for the buck by taking that money and building a health clinic in schools such as those in inner cities. Rothstein was addressing just one part of the impact that economic inequity has upon students that schools as they are currently constructed cannot address.

Still, I think we can learn from Finland, probably more so than we can from a China or a Korea, both of which are struggling to to change the direction of their schooling away from the test centric places they have been, ironically at the same time that we are going in the wrong direction.

I began by asking you to imagine a nation with excellent schools.

Now I make the same suggestion as does Sahlberg, that we seriously attempt to learn from what Finland has achieved in the past 25 years.

Imagine what we might be able to do with our schools.

Collegiate Inventors Competition for 2011: US/Canada, Undergraduate prize $10,000, Graduate prize $15,000

Objective
Introduced in 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized, rewarded, and encouraged hundreds of students to share their inventive ideas with the world. The Competition promotes exploration in invention, science, engineering, technology, and other creative endeavors and provides a window on the technologies from which society will benefit in the future.

Eligibility
Students must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) full-time in any U.S. or Canadian college or university at least part of the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. In the case of a team (maximum of four students), at least one member of the team must meet the full-time eligibility criteria. The other team members must have been enrolled on a part-time basis (at a minimum) sometime during the 24-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted.

Requirements
The entry must be the original idea and work product of a student or team of students with his or her university advisor and must not have been (1) made available to the public as a commercial product or process, (2) described in extensive detail in a publication more than one year prior to the date of submission, or (3) issued a patent more than one year prior to the date of submission. On rare occasion, exceptions may be made to allow the submission of significant recent improvements to matter patented or published more than one year prior to submission of the application. The entry submitted must be written in English.

The invention, a reduced-to-practice idea or working prototype, must be the work of a student or team of students with his or her university advisor. If it is a machine, it must be operable. If it is a chemical, it must be complete with evidence of successful application of the idea. If it is a new plant, color photographs or slides must be included in the submission. If a new or original ornamental design for an article of manufacture is submitted, the entire design must be included in the application. In addition, the invention should be capable of being reproduced.

Do not send your invention. Finalists will be notified and given instructions to send any necessary documentation. A university transcript must be provided at that time to verify student status.

Award
Each year up to 12 finalists in Graduate and Undergraduate Divisions receive an all-expenses paid trip to present their work to a panel of expert judges. The top Graduate prize is $15,000, the top Undergraduate Prize is $10,000. Other prizes will be awarded to select finalists. Academic advisors of each winning entry also receive a cash award.

Deadline
The 2011 dates for the Collegiate Inventors Competition have not yet been determined.

Website
http://www.invent.org/collegiate/

Scholarship Spotlight: University of Dayton International Merit Scholarships

University: University of Dayton, OH

Scholarship Amount: $5,000-$25,000

Program Description:
University of Dayton offers international merit scholarships which range between $5,000 and $25,000 per year to first-year and transfer undergraduate applicants.

Website: http://admission.udayton.edu/International_Students
Areas of Study: *All
Levels of Study: Undergraduate
Open to Students from Any Region

Eligibility Requirements:
Requirements 1: The University of Dayton does not require international applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores for admission or a limited scholarship review. However, applicants are welcome to submit ACT or SAT scores, as good scores may increase scholarship awards.

Contact Information:
University of Dayton
Admissions Office
300 College Park
Dayton, OH 45469-1300

Phone #: +1 (800) 837-7433
E-Mail: admission@udayton.edu

Contact or visit the website for more information.

Scholarship Spotlight: University of Toledo International Rocket Scholarship

University: University of Toledo; Toledo, Ohio

Average Scholarship: $9,120; covers non-resident portion of tuition

Deadline: MayAward Notification Month: July

Program Description:
Students that are eligible for the International Rocket Award will be invited to compete for this limited and competitive scholarship. Students selected will receive one half of the out-of-state surcharge, that when put together with the International Rocket Award will cover the entire out-of-state surcharge.

Areas of Study: *All
Levels of Study: Undergraduate
Open to Students from Any Region

Eligibility Requirements:
Requirements 1: Minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Requirements 2: Minimum of a 500 PBT / 173 CBT / 61 IBT on international TOEFL, or 6.0 on the IELTS.

For further information, contact:
The University of Toledo
Mark Schroeder
Undergraduate Admission
2801 W. Bancroft St
Mail Stop #300
Toledo, OH, 43606

Phone: +1 (419) 530-1213
Fax: +1 (419) 530-5745
E-Mail: mark.schroeder5@utoledo.edu

Visit the website to apply online: http://www.utoledo.edu

Scholarship Spotlight: Pacific Lutheran University International Student Scholarships, up to full tuition waver

University: Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, USA

Scholarship Description:
Renewable International student scholarships. Amount varies in between $1,000 and full tuition waiver ($29,200 for 2010-2011) per year. Deadline for some scholarships is December 15. Some scholarships require a separate application.

Areas of Study: Many - check out the website
Levels of Study: Undergraduate and Graduate

Open to Students from:
Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, Oceania, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda

Scholarship Information:
Avg. Award Amount: Varies (up to $29,200 for 2010-2011)
Number of Awards: Unlimited
Award Coverage: Tuition and fees.
Award Duration: Up to 4 years

Eligibility Requirements:
Requirements 1: Must be enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University.

Website: www.plu.edu/admission/international/apply

Contact Information:
Pacific Lutheran University
Hiro Kuroiwa-Lewis
Director of International Recruitment
Office of Admission
Tacoma, WA 98447-0003

Phone: +1 (253) 535-8177
Fax: +1 (253) 536-5136
E-Mail: kuroiwalewis@plu.edu

Thoughts About Teaching in a Democracy

They are not mine, although I will give my assent to them. I encountered them when reading a book.

Allow me to share them so that you can ponder them, before I tell you the author, because the value of thought should be independent of what we know of the thinker, should it not?

Let me begin with this:

Teaching is powered by a common faith: When I look out at my students, I assume the full humanity of each. I see hopes and dreams, aspirations and needs, experiences and intentions that must somehow be accounted for and valued. I encounter citizens not consumers, unruly sparks of meaning, making energy, and not a mess of deficits. This is the evidence of things not seen, the starting point for teachers in our democratic society.

I assume the full humanity of each -- Jerome Bruner once said that every child is capable of some degree of mastery in every domain. It is our task as teachers to explore with that child in a fashion that does not foreclose dreams, that does not devalue the experiences and life-knowledge with which that student arrives in our classrooms.

Citizens not consumers -- also not merely workers in our economy. If we are a democracy our primary task, especially for social studies teachers like myself, is to prepare students to be participants in our society, which in political science terms is a liberal democracy, and which can remain as one only so long as We the people are prepared to exercise our responsibility for it.

Participatory democracy requires a high level of vigilance and action in its defense and in its enactment.

Note those first two words -- participatory democracy -- it is not a spectator sport, but rather requires our commitment. Our education should have as its most important purpose preparing our students for a life in such a participatory democracy. Without that even their economic futures -- and that of the nation -- may well be in doubt.

Educators, students, and citizens must now press for an education worthy of a democracy, including an end to sorting people into winners and losers through expensive standardized tests that act as pseudo-scientific forms of surveillance; and end to starving schools of needed resources and then blaming teachers and their unions for dismal outcomes; and an end of "savage inequalities' and the rapidly accumulating "educational debt," the resources due to communities historically segregated, underfunded, and under-served. All children and youth in a democracy, regardless of economic circumstance, deserve full access to richly resourced classrooms led by caring, thoughtful, fully qualified, and generously compensated teachers.

Note the key words, in groups.

All children and youth -- we should not be making distinctions based on economic status of the parents or the community

Full access to richly resourced classrooms -- again, lesser economic status should not further deprive some of the chance to experience and use the resources that can open doors and inflame imaginations

By caring, thoughtful, fully qualified, and generously compensated teachers -- Fully qualified does not mean learning on the job after only five weeks of training. Caring means the focus is the well-being of the students, not the future economic and professional status of the teachers. Generously compensated -- well, at least sufficiently compensated that one does not have to take a second job to pay one's bills, and can devote full attention to the meaningful task of teaching.

Do these words resonate with you? The teachers I have asked to consider them all responded positively, even when they did know the source.

They are from the third edition of To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher.

The author is now retired from his university post, after a long period of teaching students from the youngest to his graduate students.

His name is William Ayers.

Yes, that William Ayers.

Does that change your reaction to his thoughts? If so, shame on you.

Scholarship Spotlight: Tulane University Financial Assistance for International Students

University: Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Scholarship Information:
Undergraduate scholarship
Open to students from any region
Areas of study: All

Avg. Award Amount: $15,000
Number of Awards: 54

Award Coverage: Partial tuition or housing waiver.
Award Duration: 4 years
Award Deadline: March 1

Eligibility Requirements:

• Requirements 1: Standardized test scores for SAT1 and TOEFL or IELTS if English is a non-native language.
• Requirements 2: Must submit a certified and translated copy of the candidate's secondary school academic record and government examination certificates.
• Requirements 3: Certification of Finances Form must be completed and turned in.

Need-based Scholarship funds:
Students may also be considered for Tulane institutional need-based scholarship funds. Tulane requires that all need-based scholarship recipients, including international students, must maintain full-time enrollment (12 credit hours or more) each semester in a full-time division (Newcomb- Tulane College, School of Architecture, School of Science and Engineering, School of Liberal Arts, Freeman School of Business.) For 2010-2011, full-time division entering undergraduate international students may receive up to a maximum of $18,000 in Tulane Need-Based Scholarship annually depending on their family's level of financial need. Students who reside in a country other than the United States or students whose family income is paid in the currency of another country must complete the College Board 2010-2011 International Student Financial Aid Application if they wish to be considered for Tulane need-based scholarship funds. Incoming students should mail the completed form directly to the Tulane University Office of Financial Aid.

Contact Information:
Tulane University
Office of Undergraduate Admission
6823 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118

Phone: +1 (800) 873-9283
E-Mail: undergrad.admission@tulane.edu

Admissions, International Students: http://tulane.edu/admission/admission-for-international-students.cfm

Tulane Website: http://tulane.edu/

Scholarship Spotlight: Florida Institute of Technology Undergraduate Merit-based Scholarships and Need-based Aid

University: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida

Merit-based scholarships:

Applications received on or before January 15 for will receive priority consideration. Academic scholarships are available through the Office of Admission. Scholarships are awarded to students with very strong secondary school grades. Scholarships may be available to qualified students regardless of country of citizenship. Scholarships range from $5,000 to $12,000 per year and are awarded automatically at the time of admission. No additional scholarship application is needed. These scholarships are only awarded to students with no prior community college or university course work.

Those students having attended, or who are currently attending, a community college or university may be eligible for a Transfer Scholarship of $8,000 per year ($4,000 per semester) until graduation. If the student attends a community college in the United States and has earned a membership to the community college honor society Phi Theta Kappa, they can combine an additional award with their transfer scholarship for a total of $12,500 per year.

Need-based aid:

Florida Tech offers limited financial aid (up to $10,000) to international students on the basis of need. This award may be combined with a Merit scholarship. To apply for need based aid, file the application for admission and Request for Financial Support form before January 15 for priority consideration. A limited number of part-time jobs may be available on campus, but they are very competitive.

Eligibility Requirements:
Open to Students from Any Region
Students must fully complete the "Request for Financial Support" found at the website:
www.fit.edu/ugrad/international/financial_assistance.php

Instructions:
Apply for admission. The awarding process is automatic if the Request for Financial Support form is submitted. Priority is given to students who apply before February 1 for the upcoming Fall term and before November 1 for the upcoming Spring term.

Areas of Study:
Accounting; Aerospace
Astronomy; Aviation/Aerospace
Behavioral Sciences; Biochemistry
Biology; Biotechnology
Business and Management
Chemistry
Communications and Journalism
Computer and Information Sciences
Computer Science; Engineering
Ecology; Environmental Studies
Information Technology
International Management
Life Sciences; Management
Marine Engineering; Marketing
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Mathematics
Medicine; Molecular Biology
Natural Resources and Conservation
Natural Sciences
Ocean and Resource Management; Oceanography
Optics; Physical Sciences; Physics
Psychology; Science

Contact Information:
Florida Institute of Technology
Judi Marino
Director of International Student Enrollment
150 W University Blvd.
Melbourne, FL
32901

Phone: +1 (321) 674 8030
Fax: +1 (321) 674 8004
E-Mail: admission@fit.edu

Scholarship Spotlight: Scholarship for African Students and Commonwealth Countries 2011- 2012 at U of Nottingham

University: University of Nottingham, UK

Eligibility:
To apply for any of the scholarships, you should be classed as an overseas student for fee purposes AND already hold an offer to start a full-time Masters degree programme (including MRes) at University of Nottingham in 2011.

Application Deadline:
The closing date for applications is 6th April 2011 for all awards. Applicants will be notified of the outcome within 6 weeks of the closing date.

Developing Solutions Masters Scholarship:

105 scholarships - 30 full tuition fee and 75 of 50% towards tuition fee

Eligible Countries:
You can apply for this scholarship if you are a national of (or permanently domiciled in) Africa, India or one of the countries of the Commonwealth listed below:

*Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Montserrat, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Samoa

Courses of Study:
Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and Faculty of Science, plus some courses in the School of Geography, Institute for Science & Society, Institute of Work, Health & Organisations, and courses allied to Operations Management in the Business School. See Scholarship Webpage

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme:

• 6 FULL Scholarships -tuition fees, airfare, maintenance award and additional allowances.
• The University of Nottingham offers this scholarship in partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
• You can apply for this scholarship if you are a national of (or permanently domiciled in)one of the eligible countries for the Scheme.

Field of Study: Faculty of Medicine and Health Science

Nominations for this scholarship will be chosen from the 'Developing Solutions' Scholarship applications - therefore you should apply only once on the Developing Solutions Scholarship application form

The Duke of Portland Developing Solutions Scholarship:

• A Full Tuition Fee Scholarship is available for a student from Africa for the MSc in Crop Improvement
• School of Biosciences
• You can apply for this scholarship if you are a national of (or permanently domiciled in) Africa

Field of Study: full-time Masters degree programme for the MSc in Crop Improvement.

Contact Information:
International Office
C Floor, International House
Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road
Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK
telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5247
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 5155

For more scholarship for international students visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk

Scholarship Spotlight: Concordia College, Minnesota; International Undergrad Scholarships

University: Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

Amount of scholarship: up to $16,000

Description:
International student scholarships, based on academic ability and family need, to qualified international students. In addition, students can work on campus and earn about $2,500 per year. Open to students from any region. All areas of study. Undergraduate scholarship.

Scholarship Information:

• Avg. Award Amount: Up to $16,000
• Number of Awards: Approx. 100
• Award Coverage: Average award covers about 50% of tuition.
• Award Duration: Varies
• Award Deadline: June
• Award Notification Month: With admission

Eligibility Requirements:

• Requirements 1: Must meet all requirements for admission. Award amount is based on academic ability and on family need.
• Requirements 2: Scholarships are available only to students enrolled at Concordia College.

Contact Information:
Concordia College
Don Buegel
Director of International Student Recruiting and Support
901 8th Street S
Moorhead, MN
56562

Phone: +1 (218) 299-3004
Fax: +1 (218) 299-4720
E-Mail: buegel@cord.edu

Website: www.concordiacollege.edu

Instructions:
Please complete International Student Financial Aid and Certification form as part of the application. Visit the Concordia website for more application information.

Scholarship Spotlight: College of Saint Rose, Graduate International Scholarships

University: College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York

Amount of scholarship: half tuition

Deadline: May 1 for fall; October 15 for spring

Program Description:
This scholarship is a partial-tuition award to support the master's degree studies of outstanding international students at The College of Saint Rose. There are no limitations on the areas of study this award may cover. Open to students from any region.

Scholarship Information:

• Avg. Award Amount: Half tuition
• Number of Awards: 3-4
• Award Duration: Maximum of 2 years
• Award Deadline: May 1 for fall; October 15 for spring
• Award Notification Month: July 1, December 1

Eligibility Requirements:

• Requirements 1: Must have unconditional admission to a graduate program at The College of Saint Rose.
• Requirements 2: Must register for full-time study (minimum of 9 credits) per semester.
• Requirements 3: Must maintain a 3.3 GPA throughout graduate studies.

Contact Information:
The College of Saint Rose
Colleen Flynn Thapalia
Director, Graduate Admissions
432 Western Avenue
Albany, NY
12203

Phone #: +1 (518) 454-5143
Fax #: +1 (518) 458-5479
E-Mail: grad@strose.edu

For more information:
Website: www.strose.edu/grad

Complete application for International Scholarship is available at the website. Applicants to graduate study may submit application for admission and scholarship application at the same time.

Scholarship Spotlight: Berkeley College, New York; International Student Scholarships

University: Berkeley College, New York, NY

Amount of scholarship: Partial tuition (10-25%)

Deadline: Same as general application

Program Description:
Upon application to Berkeley College, International Student Scholarship Applications are also reviewed for study at the school to pursue a full-time degree program. Selection is based on merit and financial need.

Areas of Study:
Accounting
Business and Management
Fashion Marketing & Management
Information Technology
International Management
Management
Marketing

Award Information:
Award Types: Scholarship
Avg. Award Amount: Varies
Number of Awards: Varies
Award Coverage: Partial tuition (10-25%).
Award Duration: Academic year, renewable for additional years
Award Deadline: Same as general application

Eligibility Requirements:

• Open to Students from Any Region
• Requirements 1: Must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
• Requirements 2: Must have minimum TOEFL score of 173 CBT.
• Requirements 3: Students will continue to receive the scholarship throughout their study as long as they maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Application Information:
Contact: Berkeley College
Nori Jaffer
Director of International Student Services
International Division
12 East 41 St., 14th FL
New York, NY
10017

Phone #: +1 (212) 687-3730
Fax #: +1 (212) 986-7827
E-Mail: international@berkeleycollege.edu

Website: www.berkeleycollege.edu

Scholarship Spotlight: Hamline University International Undergraduate Scholarships

University: Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota

Amount of scholarship: up to $18,000, plus $2,500 per year on-campus work award

Eligibility Requirements:

• The scholarships and the On-Campus Work Awards are determined by the admission committee based on academic performance (transcripts), English proficiency test score (TOEFL, IELTS), recommendation letters, and personal essay.
• Requirements 2: No additional application is necessary. All international students applying to Hamline for undergraduate admission are reviewed for eligibility at the time of application.

For more information:

Contact:
Hamline University
Director
International Admission
1536 Hewitt Avenue
St. Paul, MN
55104

Phone: +1 (651) 523-2062
Fax: +1 (651) 523-2458
E-Mail: i-contact@hamline.edu
Website: www.hamline.edu

Is there a "Virulent Left-Wing" Bias in Education?

[Cross-posted from Technopaideia]

It's no secret that the people who control public schools are at war with our nation's history, culture and achievements. - Phyllis Schlafly

I�ve recently become interested [again] in the question of whether an allegedly liberal bias in educators and academics has had a large impact on American schools and�through them�on the beliefs of Americans at large.The question has come up most recently because of something my Dad wrote in a comment on a discussion I was having with a couple of my (professor) colleagues on Facebook.  We were talking about the ways in which Kant's philosophy of education (especially his optimism about progress through education) reflected a modern viewpoint, and that that viewpoint had faded with the rise of post-modernism. A colleague asked me if I blamed "po-mo," and I said that I didn't, but instead blamed the reaction to po-mo, and then another asked if Kant could be called "pre-po-mo," or if that was reducible to "mo."  

In any case, we were playing with some of the common tropes in academia. My Dad (with whom I've had a number of heated discussions about politics on Facebook and elsewhere), wrote:  

NOW I know what we conservatives are up against. Thanks guys for enlightening me.

One of my colleagues asked him what he meant by that, and he wrote:

It's not just Big Government, Pubic programs and Tax and Spend that makes the liberal tic. That's just the symptoms. It goes to a deep seeded need to make mankind better and socially equal and they feel that they know better than the public in general what's best for them.

It all boils down to an ideology. You guys will never see my arguments as having any worth to the discussions. I'm trying not to lower myself to name calling but you guys consider yourself to be the elite, the educated ones that knows best. You talk about what you've learned and read and have been lead to believe that there is no alternative to your philosophies in education and to life in general.

No, there is no sinister plot by the Liberal. You truly believe that what you know is the only way. On your side you have most of academics, Hollywood, the media and the Democrats. There's a new meaning, for me, about what a liberal education really is. With each generation of graduates, you're getting exactly what you want in our children. They will think the same as you do.

Now, there's a lot in my Dad's comment that serves as food for thought.  For example, I'm not sure why he believes that me and these particular colleagues think alike (I don't think we do think completely alike, although we are all education professors with a strong interest in furthering our own understanding of the history of ideas and culture in general, and we all know what "po-mo" refers to. Well, okay, I'll admit it, these two colleagues and I are all Democrats).  For another, I don't know why we're more guilty of believing that what we know is the "only way" than any, say, group of Sarah Palin fans (of which my Dad is one).  For a third, I don't really think that a deep-seated desire to make mankind better is the same as thinking we know better than the public in general what's good for them. (Although it's interesting to contemplate the obverse of this statement...do conservatives think they know better than the general public that has been allegedly brainwashed by liberals in the educational system? Maybe only when conservatives lose elections to liberals?!?...but I digress.) Those questions aren't what I'd like to address here.

Instead, I'm intrigued by this idea that we academics (educators, teachers) are somehow "getting what we want in our children" and that "what we want" is that they think "the same" as we do.  This is quite an interesting claim, to me.  It seems to imply not only that "we" all think alike and that "we" all have the same desire to produce graduates who think in the same way as "we" do, but it also suggests that we're pretty successful in getting our graduates to think like us.  And since we have "Hollywood, the media, and the Democrats" on our side, we don't even have to be especially effective at schooling the kids in the liberal ideology...we can rely on the culture at large to aid and abet our conspiracy.

Once you look around on the Internets, my Dad's notions here about a liberal conspiracy that includes the schools don't seem unusual.  In fact, it seems to be a pretty common belief.  Here are just a few examples I found in just a few minutes:

1. In an article about the political realities of climate change given the recent elections, it was stated that young people are more likely to believe in global warming than older people are.  The article included this paragraph:

Anthony Watts, a prominent climate skeptic who runs the popular and controversial site �Watts Up With That,� blamed the �liberal� education system for the lack of young climate skeptics. �I suppose such a group would be unlikely because our children are conditioned by textbooks and a generally liberal education process to believe in the [man-made global warming] premise as factual and without question,� he said.

The article went on to address the fact that the older people are, the less likely they are to believe in man-made climate change or in the need for drastic governmental efforts to avoid a catastrophe.  It's interesting that one of the theories offered as to why people seem to change their minds about this as they get older is that they come to understand the economic costs of seriously addressing the issue, and are less willing to pay those costs.  They're also supposedly less alarmist...probably having survived more "the sky is falling" situations in their lives...being a bit jaded, perhaps.  But the fact that older people tend to understand the costs of addressing climate change doesn't--it seems to me--explain why they also don't think these efforts should be made...but I guess I underestimate the degree to which people vote their pocketbooks on things like this.

Watt's view that young people today have been "conditioned by textbooks and a generally liberal education process" is the core of what I'm addressing here.  The implication, of course, is that this has gotten worse in recent years...thus explaining why young people today are more likely to believe a "liberal" point of view (their elders went to school before this bias took hold, perhaps?).

 2. In an opinion piece in the Washington Times in April of this year, Deborah Simmons wrote:

Academia [is] leading young minds in a direction that [will] come to affect every aspect of American tradition and policy. Pity the enemies of liberalism and our children because, well, here we are. Same-sex marriage laws are sweeping the states. So-called medical marijuana laws are, too. The public option almost made it into the health care reform bill, and union demands mean weak-kneed politicians and lawmakers are turning their backs on fiscal conservatism in favor of continuing failed one-size-fits-all education policies. That's the short list.

(Of course, this kind of talk (that our liberal education system is leading the American people to vote in certain ways is...well...only really salient after elections which result in the election of more liberal politicians.  So, after the 2008 elections, the liberal bias of schools seemed particular strong.  After the 2010 elections?  Not so much.)

Simmons goes on to talk about an interview she conducted with David Horowitz:

Mr. Horowitz talked about how "deliberate liberal bias" has ruined America's schools. Teachers unions, he said, are the root of the problem. "They don't want another voice in the room," Mr. Horowitz said. "The teacher unions and the Democratic Party have a monopoly on the public school systems. ... Teachers get paid for showing up. No one in the world gets paid for showing up." And, he continued, "the kids fail and there's no incentive to teach." "Teachers," Mr. Horowitz said, "are overpaid and underworked, and protected ... by the Democratic Party," and unionized teachers will "fight with their last breath."

Teacher bashing and complaining about the liberal bias in curriculum and content seem to go hand in hand.  This begins to explain why many on the right prefer to have schools run by corporations...through charters...most of which aren't unionized.  By reconfiguring schools so that teachers must teach instead of sitting around--the reasoning goes--the schools will be less likely to brainwash the kids...right?  (I'm not sure I get this...the teachers don't work hard...so they effectively brainwash the kids? If they worked harder...they would brainwash less? Clearly, there's a view here of what the "real work" of teachers ought to be.  More on this later.  But first, let's go on.)

3. (Okay, I admit, this next one is a low-hanging fruit.) Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly wrote earlier this year on her Eagle Forum about the fight to revise the Texas state curriculum guidelines, titling her post "Texas Kicks Out Liberal Bias From Textbooks." The whole piece is really interesting to me, but I'll just include a few excerpts here:

For years, liberals have imposed their revisionist history on our nation's public school students, expunging important facts and historic figures while loading the textbooks with liberal propaganda, distortions and cliches. It's easy to get a quick lesson in the virulent leftwing bias by checking the index and noting how textbooks treat President Ronald Reagan and Senator Joseph McCarthy.... [The link doesn't exactly prove that textbooks treat Reagan badly...but does cite one book that gave the credit for ending the Cold War to Gorbachev and not Reagan...one book...clearly virulent.  And the alleged expert who was cited about this...a not-so-liberal professor at the University of Dayton who blogs about "the liars in the government-controlled media." The government controls the media?  But I thought it was the liberals who controlled the media...and that conservatives can't succeed in academia... But let's go on...]

In most states, the liberal education establishment enjoys total control over the state's board of education, department of education, and curriculum committees. Texas is different; the Texas State Board of Education is elected, and the people (even including parents!) have a voice. ...

(Parents actually have a lot of control over schools...everywhere...as anyone who has spent any time at all in school board meetings know.  Principals, in fact, have as their primary job keeping the parents from getting so upset about things at school that they begin to call school board members...who control the principal's jobs. In fact, one could say that increased parental control over schools has had a considerably stifling effect on teachers in the past few decades. But that doesn't fit into the "liberal bias" storyline...and it's another story for another time.)

Now that I think about it, Schlafly's editorial is worth quoting at some length:

After a public outcry, the [Texas State Board of Education (SBOE)] responded with common-sense improvements. Thomas Edison, the world's greatest inventor, will be again included in the narrative of American History.[Huh? What's this got to do with liberals and conservatives?]

Schoolchildren will no longer be misled into believing that capitalism and the free market are dirty words and that America has an unjust economic system. Instead, they will learn how the free-enterprise system gave our nation and the world so much that is good for so many people.

Liberals don't like the concept of American Exceptionalism. The liberals want to teach what's wrong with America (masquerading under the code word "social justice" [on which, more below]) instead of what's right and successful. The SBOE voted to include describing how American Exceptionalism is based on values that are unique and different from those of other nations. [Don't all nations think they're "unique" and "different"?  What's exceptional about the American beliefs in their own exceptionalism?]

The SBOE specified that teaching about the Bill of Rights should include a reference to the right to keep and bear arms. Some school curricula pretend the Second Amendment doesn't exist. [From the linked source: "Let me say point blank that one of the objectives of this [federal] curriculum is to eliminate the Second Amendment." There's an interesting side story here about this so-called "federal curriculum," but again, for another time.]

Texas curriculum standards will henceforth accurately describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic" rather than as a democracy. [Yes, not a democracy, really. Something to get my preservice teachers to think more about!] The secularists tried to remove reference to the religious basis for the founding of America, but that was voted down. The Texas Board rejected the anti-Christian crowd's proposal to eliminate the use of B.C. and A.D. for historic dates, as in Before Christ and Anno Domini, and replace them with B.C.E., as in Before the Common Era, and C.E.

The deceptive claim that the United States was founded on a "separation of church and state" gets the ax, and rightfully so. In fact, most of the original thirteen colonies were founded as Christian communities with much overlap between church and state.

History textbooks that deal with Joseph McCarthy will now be required to explain "how the later release of the Venona papers confirmed suspicions of Communist infiltration in U.S. government." The Venona papers are authentic transcripts of some 3,000 messages between the Soviet Union and its secret agents in the United States.

And, finally:

It's no secret that the people who control public schools are at war with our nation's history, culture and achievements. Since taxpayers foot the bill, it is long overdue for a state board of education to correct many textbooks myths and lies about our magnificent national heritage and achievements.

(Whew! "At war with our nation's achievements"! Damn, those "people who control public schools" must be a virulent, biased, even nefarious bunch! Who are those people, again?) But let's go on:

4. Here's some excerpts from a blog produced by Intellectual Takeout (ITO), "a non-partisan, educational 501(c)(3) institution [whose] vision is to become a national leader in educating and mobilizing conservatives, libertarians, independents, and progressives [?!?] in order to play a pivotal role in expanding individual and economic freedoms while reducing the size and scope of government."

According to many studies [not cited; see below], bias in academia more often than not is liberal bias. Many professors and students admit to possessing liberal ideologies or Democratic voting tendencies. It is natural and right for liberal students and professors to freely express their liberal philosophies, but is it right for liberal professors to continually advance their ideas in the classroom while squelching all other opinions? No.

As many of the pieces in this section suggest, universities are the breeding grounds for a variety of ideas and thought processes. Students who attend American colleges and universities should be able to gain a well-rounded view of their country, its founding principles, and the ideas � from all points on the political spectrum � that continue to shape and mold its future. Unfortunately, today�s colleges have drifted away from these ideals and become bastions of liberal thought and activism.

I dug a little deeper into Intellectual Takeout, which organizes their "information similarly to most university course offerings," by topics. I was curious that one of the topics under "Education" was "Colleges of Education."  "Hmmm....I thought...this should be interesting..." And so it is.

There are two sub-topics under Colleges of Education. One is about teacher certification, and the other is called "Education and Social Justice." This phrase "social justice," which seems on its face to be a nonpartisan ideal (who is against justice in society?), appears again and again in writings that claim an alleged left-wing bias in schools. (It's also become one of my Dad's favorite phrases when describing the conspiracy toward a New World Order that me, Obama, and our liberal friends are working toward.) The article in Intellectual Takeout explains the phrase's significance:

As has been mentioned numerous times before, the American education system has undergone major changes in the past fifty years as the principles of teacher-directed education have gradually given way to student-centered learning philosophies. [The history of progressive education is certainly an interesting one...but this quick summary seems a bit...simplistic to me.  Anyway....] Although seemingly recent, the changes that have occurred in the classroom were actually initiated many years before in the classrooms of education schools. [Okay...progressive educational ideas certainly achieved a sort of critical mass...say...in the 1940s. So this makes a bit of sense.] The training that occurs in these education schools has a great influence on the social, cultural, and intellectual path that a nation will choose, and due to this fact, it is important to understand what exactly our nation�s education schools are instilling in the minds of our future teachers. The �latest and greatest� education philosophy that education schools are pushing is the central focus of this library section: social justice education.

This is truly interesting.  Now comes a bit of a doozy: 

Social justice education is also commonly referred to as �critical pedagogy.� [Oh boy!] Although its ambiguous titles suggest virtuous American ideals such as truth and justice, its core principles revolve around a pervasive Marxist ideology. Championed by men such as Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, and William Ayers, critical pedagogy seeks to turn students into activists with an anti-capitalist mindset. Education schools are increasingly promoting this idea among their students by encouraging them to reject their �privileged� status, recognize their own racial biases, and focus on the �oppressed� facets of society. Today�s elementary and secondary classrooms are beginning to reflect these ideologies. As a result, American schools are slowly moving away from their old purpose of instilling academic skills and factual knowledge in children and toward a lopsided political indoctrination.

Wow! This is beginning to get a little personal.  I work in a college of education. One of my occasional duties is to teach courses in the  history and philosophy of American education...to preservice teachers (those who are just getting their teaching credentials). The course that I most often teach in that area is called "Social Justice Perspectives on the History and Philosophy of American Education."  (Yes, it is!)  Here's the catalog description:

	FND 510:  Social Justice Perspectives on the History and Philosophy of American Education (for M.A.T. students)

This course critically examines the social, cultural, political, and economic forces, and the philosophies of education that have influenced policy, laws, school structure, and practices throughout the history of American education. Issues addressed include ability and disability, race, ethnicity, gender, and class. Students lay the foundation for the development of a personal philosophy of education and reflectively examine issues of education from legal and social justice perspectives. This course includes a field project requiring at least 15 hours of work outside of class. 3 semester hours

Notice the key phrase "critically examines..."  On the very face of it, this seems to confirm ITO's view.

What's more, the National College of Education's conceptual framework includes the following:

NCE Faculty and candidates use scholarly habits of mind and methods of inquiry in order to affect P-12 student learning by:

• Envisioning, articulating, and modeling democratic and progressive education
• ... 
• ...
• Advocating for democratic values, equity, access and resources to assure educational success for all

I think this is what we faculty members in the National College of Education at National-Louis University mean by "social justice."  Social justice, to me, and to my colleagues, means working for a society that is democratic...where every child has access to a quality education.  This means paying attention to the social, political, and economic conditions that affect the quality of schools and that impact the experience that children have in school. It involves attention to what has come to be known as "culturally-relevant" pedagogy...which suggests that teachers must be sensitive to the values, traditions, and perspectives of the families that children come from, and the effects that prior experiences have on their experiences in school. (Click here for more on this approach.)

The thing is, none of this suggests that what we want is to create teachers well-versed in what has been called "critical pedagogy." Rather, our goal is helping new teachers to understand the broader social forces that pertain to their work in classrooms with particular children, so that they can be more effective teachers. (Although, we must admit, colleges of education aren't necessarily doing a great job with this; see here for one take on how poor they are.) We faculty members also want our teacher-graduates to be true professionals who use their understanding of history, sociology, and cultural psychology to further the profession and increase the effectiveness of schools and of the American educational system in general.  We most definitely don't believe that teachers should just teach academic skills and factual knowledge...we expect them to know and care about the larger context of schooling and about the daily lives of their students, now and in the future. Thinking critically about education means knowing that education requires more than just getting the kids to be effective in computation and decoding and memorization...and, more importantly, it means more than just teaching lower-income kids to follow orders and upper-income kids to be creative and problem-solve. (Which is what tends to happen in schools; see Anyon, 1980)

Certainly some of us do talk about critical pedagogy in some contexts. Personally, I don't think you can teach a course in the history and philosophy of education without some attention to thinkers who are considered left-wing. Some of us even assign readings, in some contexts, from Freire, Giroux, and Ayers (and...gasp!...even John Dewey!).  But we also assign readings from John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, James Conant, and Diane Ravitch, the books of which do not appear on the list of the "Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries" (Dewey's Democracy and Education does, though.) John Locke's Two Treatises of Government even appears on the Ultimate List of Conservative Must-Read Books. He's no "critical pedagogue," as anyone who has compared his Some Thoughts Concerning Education to Rousseau's Emile (for example) can attest.  Actually, I think most teachers of the history and philosophy of education in colleges of education are pretty balanced, overall, because...

...um...

...well, because in many of our courses (especially those in the Foundations of Education), we're trying to get our students to think. That's right:  to think.

"But what does "to think" mean?" you ask. "What does having prospective teachers read left-wing ideologues like Freire or Dewey or Rousseau have to do with teaching them to think? Even presenting these thinkers as if they are worth reading is introducing a bias right there, is it not?"

Hmmmm....soooo...let's see: having them read Locke or Jefferson isn't introducing bias?  Or..are you saying...it's okay to introduce certain kinds of bias? Or are these thinkers not biased? Some of the other readings I assign my students are clearly biased toward the right: articles by people like William Bennett and Chester Finn, who are known Republicans...and such documents as "A Nation At Risk," a report issued while Reagan was president.)  The goal is to help students to understand the wide range of perspectives on educational topics...not to indoctrinate them to think a particular way!

But as I'm writing this, I'm having an internal conversation that is flowing more rapidly than I'm able to write.  I'm thinking about what I consider to be the purposes of education, of what it means to be educated...of what it means to be a thinker.

And yes, in my conception of an educated person is....a willingness to read the works of people across the political spectrum, and a willingness to think about the variety of perspectives that exist, and a willingness to accept that each of these perspectives offers something important philosophically, historically, and educationally...and that the only way a reader can understand a reading is to understand that any reading reflects the values, experiences, social positions, and...yes...biases of its author.  This is what is meant by critical thinking: gaining the capacity to critique without merely condemning...to understand without condoning...to compare and contrast and contextualize while coming gradually to one's own conclusions...in short, to think for oneself.

Critical thinking, in its broadest sense has been described as "purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do." (source)

"But wait! Then you do have a bias," you're thinking.  "Your bias is that multiple perspectives need to be encountered, understood, digested, and then synthesized in the forming of one's own viewpoint.  Your bias is that education is about teaching each person to think for him or herself...rather than to merely accept the values and perspectives of a particular group (their parents, their peers, their community, the government, those in business, multinational corporations). In other words, you are trying to indoctrinate teachers into the view that getting their students to think for themselves is a worthy goal!"

Um, yes: guilty as charged.


"So you would rather have a young person form their own political beliefs than just vote the way their parents want them to?"  Yes.

"So you believe that all young people should be exposed to a variety of values, beliefs, and perspectives in school, and that they should be taught to evaluate these different perspectives critically rather than unquestioningly"? Yes.

"So you believe that there's no right or wrong...that everything is relative...that capitalism is not always great...that Communists shouldn't be ruthlessly investigated and "outed"...that students should understand why the Constitution prohibited the establishment of religion...that they should understand that the Constitution isn't perfect...that it allowed slavery to continue...and didn't let women or poor people vote.?" Well...maybe.

"So you admit a virulent left-wing bias?!?" Um...if by that you mean a set of values about what education consists of and how best to move young people towards a broader understanding of their world, ...then yes, I do.

"And you admit that your colleagues have the same beliefs about these things that you do?" Well, for the most part, yes...we pride ourselves in our commitments to democratic values, as shown in our Conceptual Framework.

"Okay, then: case closed."


Coda

What is Liberal Education?

Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal education helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings. (American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2010)

As the above demonstrates, I believe that there is a "liberal" bias in education...if by "liberal" we understand it in the same way that the word is used in the phrase "liberal education."  Those of us who work in colleges of education do, for the most part, believe that teaching young people to think for themselves...indeed, to think critically about things...is at least as important as getting them to do their times tables quickly.

The thing is, there are people in America who don't believe that it is a good thing for young people to learn, in schools, to think for themselves, especially when it comes to thinking about issues with political aspects.  Fundamentalists, for example, don't want their children to learn, in school, about evolution, or about ongoing intellectual strife about the historical authenticity of the Bible, or about how to use a condom to prevent sexually-transmitted diseases.  Fiscal conservatives don't want people developing their capacities to critique "trickle-down" economics, or their understanding of the ways that multinational corporations use the intricacies of American and international law to avoid responsibility for the larger environmental or health effects of their products. Racists don't want their children coming home from school and questioning the stereotypes that they hold about race; male chauvinists don't want their daughters to question their oppressive ideas and behaviors; meat eaters or farmers don't want their kids spouting data related to corporate farming or the true costs of eating meat.  All of these groups want and expect their kids' public school to avoid getting into anything that might conflict with their "family values."

On the other hand, liberals also don't want their kids coming home and singing the praises of Reagan's foreign policy, or defending Joseph McCarthy, or using the Bible to justify discrimination against gays, or spouting anti-Muslim rhetoric related to 911.  I mentioned above that principals want, primarily, to avoid upsetting parents to the point that complaints find their way to members of the school board.  This is why principals, in general, want their teachers to avoid controversial topics.  This is, in part, why the standardized testing regime finds such favor among school leaders:  teachers who are concentrating on preparing their students to do well on multiple choice tests are unlikely to get parents upset about what's being foisted on their kids by their teachers.

And so, the trend in the schools...in my view...isn't toward student-centered teaching or critical pedagogy (or even social justice). The trend has been, especially since A Nation at Risk in 1983, but probably longer (back to the National Defense Education Act of 1958, which included not only more federal funding for math and science education but also a requirement that students benefiting from the loans it provided sign an affidavit disclaiming belief in the overthrow of the U.S. government). A Nation at Risk solidified the view that the primary purpose of American schools was to increase American economic competitiveness, and that the best way to do that was to increase academic expectations and standardized testing (so-called "accountability").  One way to look at this trend is to see it as a backlash to the so-called "liberal" bias of teachers, who, it is believed, not only waste their time indoctrinating students into their left-wing views, but also fail to develop their students basic skills. The view seems to be that "critical thinking" and "academic excellence" are somehow at odds, and that liberal teachers can't be trusted to strike (pun intended) the proper balance.

So I think the whole question of whether schools and colleges have a "virulent left-wing bias" is clouded by another issue, which is whether schools and colleges should be trying to get their students to learn to think for themselves about larger social and political issues. As an avowed liberal, I am quite willing to accept that I have a "bias" towards students learning to think critically rather than just accepting the values or political views of their parents or communities. I believe that a democratic society (oh, sorry, a "constitutional republic") requires citizens with a capacity to think for themselves, and that schools in such a society have an obligation to develop that capacity...along with an ability to interpret data...conduct independent research...understand multiple perspectives...read between the lines...and suspend judgment. These outcomes don't seem to me to reflect a "left wing" bias...but if they result in our students being less likely to accept dogma (from left OR right), then I'm happy.

As for the "left wing" bias...it's a somewhat different charge.  The suggestion is that because so many teachers are allegedly left of center (as many as 87% according to one study!), that they are "squelching" other points of view and unduly influencing their students.  This is the charge that my Dad intended to make, and that most of the articles I quote above also make.  This is the charge that Rush Limbaugh makes when he claims that "The public school system is a liberal project that is designed to create as many little liberals as possible." This is why Phyllis Schlafly calls it a "virulent" left-wing bias...to reflect the notion that teachers are trying to make as many "mini-me liberals" as they can. And us college of education faculty members?  Not only producing mini-me liberals in our own students (eventual teachers)...but in the k-12 students they eventually teach.  (It's like a Ponzi scheme...only more satisfying!)

Personally, I don't think that's what most liberal college professors and school teachers want. I don't think most of us want graduates who think the same as we do.  As I've argued, we want graduates who do think for themselves, and to the extent that this undermines dogma, we're happy.  But "mini-me's"?  No.  That's no only petty and unprofessional...it's against what we're explicitly trying to do. 

And yet, the charge remains.  When conservatives lose elections or feel that no one is listening to their point of view (as my Dad clearly felt in that Facebook discussion)...the charge is renewed. When conservatives win or they're talking among themselves, the charge is renewed and they pat themselves on the back for finding a way around the liberal teachers...and (allegedly) liberal media...and (allegedly) liberal government. Aren't those Tea Partiers smart?

Of course, I haven't even begun to touch on another related issue, whether education, in general, opens the mind...and people with open minds tend to be more liberal than those with closed minds.  But that's a blog post for another day.  Right now, I need to go back to finding ways to indoctrinate my students, in support of the Marxist-Fascist-Liberal New World Order.


And yes, that last sentence was meant facetiously.  Have a good day!

International Summer Research Program in Life Sciences and Technology 2011; EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

University: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/ Ecole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne (EPFL),

Amount of Scholarship:
3200 CHF is provided for all successful candidates � full tuition, travel, housing, excursions, and social events.

Scholarship Deadline: February 15th 2011

Scholarship Description:
The Summer Research Program in Life Sciences and Technology at the Ecole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne (EPFL), will offer an intensive research training opportunity to 25 undergraduate students interested in research careers in life sciences. This program will run from July 4th to August 26th 2011.

Eligibility/Requirements:

• Must be enrolled in a degree program in basic, engineering, or life sciences and planning on pursuing a career in the life sciences.
• Must be in good standing with a GPA equivalent to a "B" grade or higher and should have completed at least 2 years of undergraduate coursework by the summer of 2011.

Applicants must submit a complete on-line application, including the following:

• Completed application form including a personal statement (maximum 1000 words) describing the student's academic background, scientific interests, any previous research experience and what he/she hopes to accomplish from attending the summer research program.
• Official copy of the student's university academic transcript.
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty or instructors who are familiar with the student and are in a position to assess the student's capabilities and potential for a career in science.

Selection Criteria:
The summer research fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis taking into consideration several criteria including the student�s academic record, personal statements and letters of recommendation.

Additional Requirements:
The intensive nature of the program requires full-time commitment (~40 hours/week) from the participants. All the participants are required to attend and participate in all scheduled events and activities related to the program. Therefore, participants may not attend another summer school or commit to other activities during the duration of this program that could interfere with their work schedule.

Benefits to the Students:
The participants will:

• Gain hands-on research experience and training with exposure to cutting-edge research.
• Experience what it is like to be a member of a research community working at the forefront of science, medicine and biotechnology.
• Have the opportunity to apply what was learned in the classroom to understanding and solving actual research problems in the laboratory.
• Acquire a better understanding of the scientific process and the application of the knowledge gained from basic science research and state-of-the-art techniques to solve complex problems in biology and medicine.
• Improve their critical thinking skills, including learning how to evaluate scientific information, design experiments, formulate ideas and test hypotheses.
• Explore career opportunities in academia by experiencing the excitement, frustration, and challenges of scientific research and gain an insight into what a career in the science entails.
• Prepare for future independent research projects and advanced research in graduate school.

Contact Information:

Contact Email: summer.sv@epfl.ch

Program Coordinator:
Alice Emery-GoodmanOffice (FSV):SV 3813Tel: +41 21 693 07 94Fax: +41 21 693 18 75alice.goodman@epfl.ch

For more information and application: http://sv.epfl.ch/summer-research
(Pictures, FAQ, Application, Detailed information)

International College of Hotel Management, Australia: Undergraduate Scholarships 2011-2012

University: The International College of Hotel Management

Amount of Scholarship:
A$15,000 to be paid in the following manner:
Year 1 A$4,000; Year 2 A$4,000
Year 3 A$4,000; Year 4 A$3,000

Deadline:
April 1, 2011 for Round 1: July 2011 or January 2012;
September 2, 2011 for Round 2: January 2012 or July 2012

Eligibility or Requirements:

• Open to all international students studying outside Australia, international students undertaking an English course in Australia, and international students who have completed less than two years high school in Australia. International students who finish high school in Australia including the last two years must apply for the Australian Entry Scholarships.
• Minimum age requirement of 18 years old at the time of commencement with ICHM.Maximum age 24 at time of application.
• Will complete/graduate in 2011 or prior to the July 2012 intake, or have already completed/graduated their final year of high school studies. Results must meet ICHM Academic Entry Requirements (refer to ICHM Prospectus or website).
• For students whose mother tongue is other than English, IELTS 6.0/TOEFL 550. (Paper based; computer & internet also acceptable)
• Open only to new students seeking entry into Year 1.
• If you do not have a copy of our prospectus to assist with the preparation of your scholarship application, it can be viewed on ICHM website www.ichm.edu.au or contact the Admissions Office and a copy will be forwarded to you by post.
• Other general information is available on the ICHM website or by contacting the ICHM Admissions Office.

How to apply:
Your completed application must contain:

• Scholarship application form.
  This form is in two parts.- Cover page providing your personal contact details - Your response to 4 short-answer questions found on the reverse of the cover page.
• Brief CV (not more than one page in length)
• Most recent copies of your school reports from the last two years.
• ICHM application form (unless an application to attend ICHM has already been forwarded).
• Evidence of English language ability (e.g. IELT S/TOE FL)
• The ICHM Application form can be found on the ICHM website.
• All sections must be completed and submitted along with the Scholarship form and details.
  

Scholarship Application Fee: A$50.

For more information:

Email: admissions@ichm.edu.au
Fax: (+61 8228 3684
Post:ICHM Admissions Office
124 Hutt Street
Adelaide SA 5000
AUSTRALIA

Source:http://www.ichm.edu.au/

Scholarship Spotlight: University of Leeds Offers Postgraduate Scholarships

Amount: Partial to full scholarships, plus other allowances.

Deadline: Aim to submit your application at an early stage

Description: The University offers a wide range of Taught and Research Postgraduate Scholarships for study at Leeds for international students from partial fee awards to full scholarships covering fees and maintenance grants and other allowances. Scholarships are very competitive and it is important to make enquiries and apply to all possible sources of funding at an early stage.

Important Requirements: To be eligible to apply for a postgraduate scholarship you MUST first submit a study application form (taught or research) and be in receipt of a University BANNER ID number. Your application will be rejected if you do not have a valid University Banner ID number.

The links below also provide important information regarding programs, research opportunities, admissions policy and process, and documentation needed.

Taught Postgraduate Applicants can apply online at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/apply.htm

Research Applicants can apply online at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/apply_research.htm

You should:

• Read the information carefully and check the eligibility criteria for different Scholarships;
• Aim to submit your application at an early stage;
• If applying for Master�s by Research scholarship search under both taught and postgraduate categories
  

International applicants can use the services of our overseas representatives to make an application to the University; for a list countries and representative information visit: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/international/agentscontacts.htm

For more information: http://scholarships.leeds.ac.uk/

Student Grades, Test Scores, and Rankings

originally posted at Huffington Post

Some want to tie teacher evaluation to student performance on external tests. They may advocate a value-added methodology, which in theory should allow us to rank teachers by how much their students improve. While there are methodological issues about whether we can truly isolate what the teachers have actually contributed to the student performance, I found myself asking, if the way some propose to evaluate teachers is by how much the students improve, why are we not similarly evaluating students? Why do we insist upon artificial levels of performance, determined by percentage scores and weights, as if in converting things to a 100 point number scale, we therefore communicate something meaningful about that student -- s/he performed at an A level, or got a 93 percent overall. Is that really meaningful? Who has done more, the student who begins at a very low performance and then achieves at what we would classify as a C level, or the student who begins with a high A and stays there?

Here, I think of a class many moons ago. There were 27 students in a "Talented and Gifted" class, all 9th graders. 23 finished with final grades of A. Consider several students from that class whose names have been changed to protect their identity.

Natalie was early on getting 94s on my tests and written assignments when no one else was over a 90. I pulled her aside and told her that if she did not improve what she was doing, she would be wasting both my time and hers. She raised one eyebrow, then dedicated herself to her work. Her final overall average would have been around 98 -- and I am not considered an easy grader (an issue to which I will return).

Natalie finished her high school career as our salutatorian, never having a quarter grade other than A. She took 13 Advanced Placement Courses, which gave additional points for the difficulty of the course. She scored 5 (the top possible score) on all 13 AP exams.

Her high school record was "perfect." She was not valedictorian because someone else completed 14 Advanced Placement courses, and thus had a marginally higher Grade Point Average because of the additional weighted grade.

Both students were outstanding. Why do we have to distinguish between them?

We have since had twins finish first and second twice. We ranked one over the other. What is gained thereby?

That long-ago class had some incredibly gifted kids. The one whose performance I most admire was one of the four NOT finishing with an A. John was somewhat outmatched. He was not especially verbal, and his writing was atrocious. His first quarter grade was a D -- an "average" in the 60s. His final grade was a B. But for the second-half of the year, he had done A work, averaging over 90 percent for quarters three and four. His record of D-C-A-A averaged out to a final B.

That is not a fair reflection of what he had accomplished. For half-the-year, he performed at an A level, often higher than students whose final grades were A, but because of his early struggles, the grade on his transcript was that final B, and his overall GPA was affected accordingly. Did we punish him because he took on a more challenging course, and even though he rose to the expectations of the course, saw his grade affected by his early struggles. Does that send a message not to take on courses that might stretch one because of the impact upon grades?

I am a tough grader. Whatever my students can do when they arrive in my class, I expect them to be able to do far more at the end of the year. I wonder if those who had me might have felt disadvantaged because other teachers of such classes were not so rigorous in their demands? Might some attempt to "equalize" different levels of rigor by insisting upon absolutely uniformity in grading? Would that really solve the problem of adequately communicating what a student has accomplished?

I think back to that class. It challenged me as much as any I have taught in my 16 years in a public school classroom. I was prepared to let one student take over the class after two weeks. She is now, after several years of employment, a first-year student at one of the most prestigious professional schools in the nation. I know she will do well, not because of her grades, but because of her willingness to take on challenges, and the experience of rising to meet whatever confronts her. Lisa is one of my favorites, not because of her superb academic record, but because of how much she grew -- and how much she challenged me -- during the year I was her teacher. Similarly, Natalie and John both grew. He grew most of all because he started with less-developed skills.

His grade does not fairly represent what he accomplished. Natalie, being ranked second in her class, is at least on the surface, somewhat unfair. Even Lisa's superb academic performance does not indicate how much she grew as a student and person in her years at our high school. I was delighted to write her recommendations for her college applications because I could thereby explain some of that. I wonder why we cannot have similar narratives for all our students as a part of their record, for each course.

If our tests are supposed to measure what a student really knows and can do, why are they heavily multiple choice? Why are they timed, thereby giving an advantage to those who can think quickly, even if no better than those who want to reflect? Do the results accurately reflect what a student can do in the real world?

Why do we insist upon comparing students to one another? Should not our challenge be to have each student rise as high as s/he can, to perform as well as s/he can?

Why do we not simply have two grades -- needs improvement and meets the requirements? Why should students not be allowed to learn from their mistakes and gain credit for self-correction?

I wrestle with these issues. Our school keeps score. We rank. Do my students suffer because my standards are high?

There are many things we should rethink about our public schools. Should issues like those I raise be part of the discussion? How much does how we assess, grade, and rank our students do them a disservice?

Natalie, Lisa, and John. I can still remember them as individual students, not merely as the grades they achieved. Cannot we rethink what we are doing so that we will truly know what our students have learned and can do, and be able to describe them accurately as more than scores on tests or cumulative GPAs? Is not each child entitled to something more than that?

I hope so.