Product Description
The price of college tuition has increased more than any other major good or service for the last twenty years. Nine out of ten American high school seniors aspire to go to college, yet the United States has fallen from world leader to only the tenth most educated nation. Almost half of college students don’t graduate; those who do have unprecedented levels of federal and private student loan debt, which constitutes a credit bubble similar to the mortgage crisis.The… More >>
DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education
College tuition keeps going higher, but college graduates keep learning less than the generation before. Employers have horror stories about college graduates who don’t know enough to hold down entry level positions. Meanwhile, these graduates have huge student loans to pay off–loans that sometimes can ruin the rest of their lives. Everyone, especially in politics talks about education, but almost everything they do makes the situation worse. Finally, in this compelling book, Kamenetz smartly and quickly shows how the US can once again become a nation of educated people. I wish every college president–and every kid filling out a college application–could read this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
I enjoyed the book and took away many new ideas and links/resources to followup for my personal learning network. It is a fast read (couple days) and I would encourage all educators to pick it up – well worth the time. In fact, I intend to pass a copy on to my President, Vice-President, and Dean.
As an educator always trying to innovate and try new methods for opening the classroom, the book’s content resonated with my philosophy and experiences. For the past 16-years I’ve been a librarian and teacher in both high schools and community colleges. I love that the community college experience is highlighted in the book. Currently I teach an online class on social media and all the content is available on the open web – no restrictions! Though most of the book was familiar territory for me, I particularly found the history of education chapter to be useful to provide perspective on our current state of education.
Will continue to reflect on these themes.
Rating: 5 / 5