Hey, this is particularly for the education group

Source: Inside Higher Ed

Can Liberal Arts Colleges Be Saved?

By Victor E. Ferrall Jr.

The 2004 Carnegie Classifications identified only 95 liberal arts colleges with no graduate school where 80 percent or more of all graduates are liberal arts and sciences, not career-based, majors. They accounted for a mere 0.8 percent of the total higher education enrollment in the U.S. In a 1990 Yankelovich survey, two-thirds of respondents believed the main reason to go to college was to get the skills necessary for a good job. A 2004 University of California at Los Angles survey reported that three-quarters of all students gave as their reasons for going to college “to get training for a specific career,” “to be able to get a better job,” and/or “to be able to make more money.”

This year, a Special Commission appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings “to consider how best to improve our system of higher education” completed a year long study. Its 55-page report of analysis...

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Summary of pre-dialogue discussions

(Click image for next slide...)

These are the slides that were presented by Johnston at the PMD on behalf of NYF 08. I have put it up as I think it is a good summary of what was discussed at the pre-dialogue session. These are some of the issues that you might want to keep in mind while you think of your projects. I hope to be able to compile a more comprehensive one too. Look out for that soon!

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Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM: The Education Landscape - Catering to Excellence

This is the Keynote Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education, at the Association of Muslim Professionals' (AMP) Community In Review Seminar in January 2008. He speaks about how as a nation, we have moved from a survival-driven phase of education, to an efficiency-driven model and since 1997, towards an ability-driven and aspirations-based model. It is in this phase that the government hopes to cater to and build on the strengths of our students, so that all Singaporeans are set on a path towards excellence from young. He goes on to highlight 3 principles on which we will do so.

1. Every Singaporean has Access to a Foundation for Excellence
2. We Cater to All Strengths
3. There are Multiple Pathways to Success

Below are excerpts from the speech.

"... In many other education systems around the world, there is often a disparity between public and private schools, in terms of facilities, quality, programmes and outcomes. These disparities in the education system often set the stage for widening gaps between those from privileged and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Singapore, we want education to be the levelling ground to bring children of all backgrounds to a high average. Not surprisingly then, Singaporean students - all Singaporean students - emerge among the best in the world when their learning outcomes are measured. ..."

"... We cater for the development of a wide range of talents, and in so doing, have extended far beyond the development of academic talents. We have established new specialised schools in the Arts, Sports, and Maths and Science, so as to bring students’ talents in these areas as far ahead as possible. ..."

"... We created NorthLight School to provide another pathway to success for students who are not well-suited for a conventional academic education, and who found difficulty in assessing the PSLE curriculum. The school uses creative and unconventional teaching methods to stimulate its students, and focuses its efforts on building their confidence. ..."

Read the rest of the speech here or download the pdf.

Alan Kay: A powerful idea about teaching ideas

With all the intensity and brilliance for which he is known, Alan Kay envisions better techniques for teaching kids by using computers to illustrate experience in ways -– mathematically and scientifically -- that only computers can.

Dave Eggers: Once Upon a School

Dave Eggers won the 2008 TED Prize Wish with this personal project. An accomplished novelist in his own right, Dave came up with an idea to partner local schools to help improve the literacy level of students. With spellbinding eagerness, he talks about how his 826 Valencia tutoring center inspired others around the world to open their own centres and reach out to others in their own communities. Dave's passion to create positive change is deeply moving. His idea is a simple one, but extremely portable to our local context in Singapore. Perhaps the way to a better education for Sinagporeans lie not just in our public education system but also on how non-governmental groups can come in to integrate, providing a more wholistic solution to our challenges especially with regards to the less academically inclined.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. In doing so, I feel he raises some important questions on how and why we are in the business of education. I thought this is especially relevant for us in Singapore where the Ministry of Education has tried ways to include creative thinking in our local syllabus. While the intention was brilliant and indeed timely, its execution was not always beneficial. Sir Ken Robinson provides some interesting ideas in this video.