Home » 2016 (Page 2)
Yearly Archives: 2016
Undocumented Students
Many undocumented/first generation/minority students come from countries which have highly structured national education systems. In contrast, the American system can fairly be labeled as chaotic. There are significantly different – and confusing — roles with respect to funding and accountability at the federal, state, and local school district levels. Specifically with respect to the topic […]
Bernie’s Diner: On-line Education
“Learning takes place when you are OUT of the comfort zone; the networking and live-action conversations are so important.” Warning: this essay wanders more than a bit, so here for the impatient reader is the conclusion: there are no longitudinal metrics available to readily determine whether on-line higher education is en route to being a […]
American Leadership
For nearly a decade, my foundation has had a Wall Street Committee, typically consisting of a half-dozen members. There is a live portfolio of about $75,000 at this time, one-third in cash and two-thirds in common stocks. Some 14 well-known American companies are represented, virtually all of whom derive substantial percentages of their business from […]
Fearless Forecasts
In 1992, I left a great job on Wall Street and, having raised a bunch of money, established a foundation to provide “educational assistance to financially disadvantaged young people.” My new must read became Education Week, whose typical subscriber probably has jaundiced views about my prior life. What is not in dispute in the world […]
A Political Platform
… as drawn up on the back of a New Jersey diner placemat in January of 2012. Enactment of a true DREAM Act Balanced federal budget on a rolling four-year basis Decisions on gay marriage and abortion legislation retained at the state level Removal of all American shooting troops currently stationed on foreign soil Implementation […]
Voices
In choosing a school, the prospective collegian often has multiple “helpful” people in his or her ear: mother, father, best friend, sibling, high school counselor, teacher, outside education advisor, and, of course, oneself. Assume the student’s final decision is among three colleges with different characteristics. One way to put together the inputs from different sources […]
Somebody
All my life I have wondered about “Somebody”. Is “Somebody” a man or a woman, or perhaps a mythical combination of both? Does “Somebody” rent their residence or own a house with a mortgage and a picket fence, 1.9 kids, and a dog? Did “Somebody” complete four years of university education or drop out after […]
One Goal
Everybody wants the ability in their job to earn enough money to meet basic needs, even if we tend to forget that truism in a country afflicted with both overall affluence and huge disparities in income: a roof over one’s head, some clothes (let’s not have a debate here about “needs” versus “wants”), and food […]
The Good People
An Inarticulate Request for Reflection This essay may be misunderstood and not totally well-received by some of the people I love. Maybe my negative view on so many things in contemporary society is overriding common sense— having family and friends is so precious how could one ever put them at risk. Why would anybody think […]
On the Third Day
No, we are not talking about an Easter song. Instead, the third day is that time in your family vacation when sometimes everyone is mad with each other, kids with kids, parents with parents, parents with kids–every combination possible. People fighting over the slightest annoyance, like a shovel in the sand–as if it was a […]