Advisory Bored Reading List 06/05/2011

• Sowing seeds for a well-educated, homegrown workforce
  Barbara Hulit, president of Fluke and board member of Washington STEM, offers her thoughts on growing a well educated local workforce for a technology focused economy.  While I don't fundamentally disagree with any of her points, I do think she is missing something.  Like so many others, she fails to address the more significant problem of student disinterest in these fields which has plagued STEM for a decade or more.  Certainly the numbers have stabilized or rebounded slightly, but our best intentions won't lead to any improvements if there isn't a significant interest among students in these programs.  It will be interesting to what the program she cites in the article.
  
  What if you build it and they don't come?
  
  
• Wait on WSU Everett, focus on existing higher-ed opportunities
  Not all local political leaders think the WSU takeover of University Center is a good idea.  Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe and Rep. Luis Moscoso weigh in on the subject, suggesting that the WSU proposal does nothing to strengthen educational opportunities and that we must be more focused in the allocation of limited resources.
  
  
• Next challenge: Build trust
  The Herald's editorial board thinks much work lies ahead in establishing a trusting relationship between WSU and the other partner institutions at University Center if the larger goal of expanded educational opportunities is to be achieved.
  
  I would ask the Herald's editorial board just exactly why they think any of these partners would participate.  Seriously, these institutions have worked hard to establish these programs and to build up the University Center.  The editorial board would have them give it their all for a couple more years so WSU can create a plan to get rid of them.  Really?  You think that's something they ought to do?  Really?
  
  When it comes to 4-year education in Snohomish county, the Herald's editorial board has completely lost all sense of reason.  
  
  
• Snohomish County appears closer to goal of hosting a university
  Jerry Cornfield provides the background on the journey to the get Washington State University to take up residence on the Everett Community College campus with the long term goal of creating a 4-year, degree granting institution here in Snohomish county.
  
  While the legislation will make the coordinator for the multi-college University Center program at EvCC, there are no solid plans nor funding to move beyond this arrangement.  It seems to me that we risk losing eduction opportunities if the other existing partner colleges pull out of University Center or if the recently announced WGU online university takes hold.
  
  

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Advisory Bored Reading List 06/04/2011

• Send them to the back of the class
  Nicole Brodeur in the Times thinks the Washington legislature missed the mark related to education in the most recent session.  We cut pay across the board, but didn't build in any accountability for performance, Perhaps, Brodeur thinks, we need to lower our expectations for schools.  
  
  
• Tycoon pays bright minds to forgo college
  PayPal tycoon Peter Thiel has started to award his 20 Under 20 scholarship, $100,000 to skip college for now and venture out to start an innovative business instead.  Thiel has been in the news lately for his thoughts on the education bubble and what he considers a lack of innovation.  
  
  

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.