Thoughts On Kolluj Ejukashun

My college is famous!

Well, kinda. Fort Hays State University recently made it on to USA Today's 5 of the Most Inexpensive Colleges in the U.S. Fort Hays made the list at five.

This shouldn't really come as a surprise. Heck, the slogan for Fort Hays when I attended was "Affordable Success." The price was actually a significant factor in me ultimately deciding to go there.

It's interesting though to see the reactions from people when I tell them that's my alma mater. Unless I'm telling someone that is a Fort Hays grad, their reaction is usually a polite "Oh, nice" or a vivid "Eww..."

Because let's face it. Fort Hays is not Harvard. It's not Cambridge. It's not KU. Fort Hays doesn't have a "reputation" factor with it. In fact, many people seem to only know of it as a "party school." But I'm convinced more than ever that none of that really matters. You could go to KU or the University of Texas and major in English but you're still going to get the same basic education I did.

Reputation Doesn't Matter

A recent story by Claudio Sanchez from National Public Radio shows that many people equate high tuition with quality:

While most institutions tried to keep costs down, Baum says, some took advantage of the public perception that a high tuition means a quality education.

"There's certainly evidence that people don't know how to measure the quality of a college education," she says. "They think that if it's expensive it must be better. I don't think colleges want to have high prices, but I do think they see strategic reasons why it may be in their interest to have high prices." 

I went to a cheap college without a reputation and yet I would put my college resume up against nearly anyone else in the country because of what I did while I was there. That, more than anything, is what stands out on my resume and is a primary reason I was able to land job interviews. The USA Today article challenged the notion of a school's "reputation" being what lands you a job and argues that it's actually what you achieve while you're in school that matters.

Is there any truth to (a college's reputation helping to land you a job)? Some recruiters and other experts say "no." According to a publication by the College Solution, employers seek out candidates from a variety of schools – large, small, known and unknown. The publication adds that what you do during your time in school matters. Your achievements, credentials, and activities will set you apart from competition in the job market.

But what about the quality of the education that's provided? Surely, students at expensive, prestigious schools must get more out of their educational experience? You would think there's some truth to that, but you'd be wrong. What a student learns in a classroom in college is NOT predicated on what the college does but on what the STUDENT does. The more motivated a student is, the more they will learn, regardless of the quality of instruction. In fact, the Brookings Institution released some interesting findings on the matter, responding to statistics showing Yale graduates made 30 percent more money than Tulane graduates:

But maybe the kids who got into Yale were simply more talented or hardworking than those who got into Tulane. To adjust for this, Krueger and Dale studied what happened to students who were accepted at an Ivy or a similar institution, but chose instead to attend a less sexy, "moderately selective" school. It turned out that such students had, on average, the same income twenty years later as graduates of the elite colleges. Krueger and Dale found that for students bright enough to win admission to a top school, later income "varied little, no matter which type of college they attended." In other words, the student, not the school, was responsible for the success.

There's something refreshing about being reminded that what we achieve is entirely up to us and that what you DO is more important than where you're coming from. While at Fort Hays I had a large number of opportunities to do some great things. As a junior I was the editor of the student newspaper. I got to play on the drumline. I took 100-level classes from professors with doctorates in classes with only 20 others. I gained a lot from my time there simply because opportunities were given to me and I took them. Would I have been able to do the same at KU? Probably not. They don't let you even write for the newspaper until you're a junior. Maybe this sounds pessimistic, but for my situation, I probably would have just ended up with a larger tuition bill. 

...but cost DOES

So reputation doesn't matter very much. But how important is cost? Over the next several years it will become more and more of a factor. 

Over the last five years tuition has skyrocketed. In Arizona, for example, parents have seen a 77 percent increase in costs. In Georgia, it's 75 percent, and in Washington state, 70 percent. Even at Fort Hays, my "affordable success" school, tuition is now $145 for in-state students. When I attended, it was $98. That's roughly a 50 percent increase. 

There was another appeal to me in going to Fort Hays instead of another school. And that is that I strongly believe that a higher education should be accessible to anyone who wants it. There are students who get C's in high school but put in A-level effort. Those students aren't going to get the big-dollar scholarships that we celebrate so much. Those students may not be from families of privilege who can afford college. Cost should NOT be something that keeps kids out of school. This is something I feel pretty strongly about. Higher education is not just something for the elite. It is not just something for the "gifted." It's something that should be attainable to anyone willing to do the work. 

I make fun of my alma mater. A lot. Especially around others who went to school there. But there are a number of things I'm proud of about it. One thing I don't regret is passing on prestige in favor of opportunity. 

Why I Don't Mind An 11-Hour Drive to Chicago

Well, I feel lazy.

Both Sam Neill and Greg Froese blogged yesterday, and now Jason Kohls just posted as well. And they were all excellent. I've posted descriptions of their blog posts (the way I see them, anyway) as well as put links to them at the bottom of this page.  

That means I better keep up!

Yesterday I, my assistant David Bowers, and four students from Buhler departed for the National Catholic Forensics League Grand National Tournament in Chicago. Never been here. Don't know anyone who lives here. But that didn't stop us from driving here in a day. If that sounds tough, don't worry. It only takes 11 hours if you don't stop. Which we did. A lot. 

I've got a fantastic group of kids we've gotten to take out. Two compete in Extemporaneous Speaking, one is in Oral Interpretation of Literature, and another is in Original Oratory. These are pretty demanding events for some pretty bright kids, and sometimes I think people don't realize just how cool it is that these kids WANT to work at an academic activity. They WANT to be the best at a skill they will get to use in the workplace. They WANT to present themselves in a manner that is more professional than many adults. 

Oral Interpretation of Literature? A student has to perform a short story and a poem using voice inflections and movement to convey a message. 

Original Oratory? A student not only writes their own 10-minute speech using valid sources and research (I challenge you to do that. It's got some length to get it to 10 minutes) but they also have to completely memorize it.

Extemporaneous Speaking? A student draws a current events question and then gets only 30 minutes to prepare a 7-minute speech, which they have to deliver in front of a judge. Here's an example of a question these students practice with:

Is Cornell William Brooks a great pick to lead the NAACP?

If you're like most people, you probably don't know who Cornell Brooks is. But students in extemp would be expected to give a 7-minute speech over him.

It's astounding at how surprised parents get to see high school students who are capable of doing something like this. But should it really be that surprising? After all, these students only have class time to work and two days of practice a week to prepare. Many work outside of class and practice, but it's by no means required. Really that compares pretty well with any student who does a sport. And we don't get astonished at those who get stronger and faster because it's expected that they should improve when they're working at it and practicing. 

But shouldn't we expect the same when it comes to the realm of academics? Shouldn't we expect that students put emphasis on gaining skills that will directly help them in any field they could consider going into? Our forensics kids don't bat an eye at the challenge because, simply put, they want to be the best.

And that's what I like the most about forensics. It puts all these skills and pieces of knowledge into a competition format. Students want to win. And when we we can legitimately reward excellence, when we give students a chance to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are excellent, they get much more than a trophy or a medal. They get something they can use for the rest of their lives. 

That, more than anything else, makes challenges like an 11-hour drive to Chicago completely worth it. 

Rag-tag group of champions.

Sam Neill had an excellent blog post over misunderstandings regarding Common Core and the primary issues that students face (it's tough to learn when you're hungry). 

Greg Froese opened his blogging account by writing an awesome bit on peer pressure and facing new challenges. 

And Jason Kohls composed a deep psychological exploration of the correct usage of the Oxford Comma (spoiler alert: there is only one correct way to do it).

Food

I don't have anything insightful about this picture. Except that I enjoy the looks of sheer bewilderment and terror whenever we do something new with Ellie. 

Teaching Is An Exercise In Faith

Despite getting ready to start my fourth year as a professional teacher, I still feel like a newbie.

No, not a newbie to my English Department (which is awesome, by the way) but to the profession as a whole. I once told an older teacher that I feel like I'm still in the "beg, borrow, and steal" phase when it comes to lesson plans, to which he replied, "Oh, you think that goes away..."

If there's been one thing I've discovered about teaching, it's that this is a terrible job for a pessimist. It can be easy to fall into a pit despair over some of the things with which you have to cope. It takes an insane amount of hope and faith that students, situations, and you yourself are not going to be stuck doing the same things forever.

It takes faith for a teacher to realize that he or she is going to improve and get better. I think just about every first-year teacher reaches a point where they think to themselves, "I don't think I can handle another year like this." But that first year is so incredibly valuable. That's when teachers really find out what works well for them and what doesn't. If you were to ask me what was different about my second year compared with my first, I would probably tell you "Everything." Was it still tough? Yes. Teaching is tough. It will always be tough. But things seem a little brighter when you can at least work with a year of successes and failures under your belt. It's a challenge to know deep down that in ten years, you will be ten years better.

It takes faith to realize that a student will mature with the passage of time, and that they won't be the same person when they graduate as they were in your freshman class. Kids change. People change. And I believe that, for the most part, they change for the better. The best example I can think of for this is myself. I was a moody jerk at times during high school. And look at me now. I'm awesome. Just kidding. But I do feel like I'm a kinder and less selfish person than I was when I was in high school. It's incredibly easy to look at a student and assume they will keep cutting corners and trying to cheat forever. But that's probably not true. As people experience new challenges, their perspectives change. And growing up is all about facing new challenges. It's difficult sometimes to truly feel that gradually, you are making an impact on a student who will be an inheritor of the earth.

It takes faith to believe that legislators and policymakers will make the best informed decisions for the education of the children in their state. This is a touchy one, especially in Kansas, where the legislature not only seems to treat school funding like a non-essential budget line-item, but recently decided to make sweeping policy changes with zero research and virtually zero debate. It's tough to work at a job where the perception is that your work is unappreciated, and sadly that's the message that comes across when this happens. It's tough to work when at a job that is subject to spin and mischaracterization, much like the widespread misunderstanding regarding Common Core. But unless you can brush it off, put your head down and vow to keep doing your job to the best of your ability, it's easy to start comparing your career to other options that are out there.

And for my grammar Nazi friends out there: Yes, in my informal writing, I use plural pronouns when the gender for singular subjects is ambiguous. It is a conscious departure from prescribed American Standard English. Also, sometimes I end sentences with prepositions. That's something you need to get over.