Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, fresh from his political victory earlier this summer, has set his sights on lowering higher education costs. Last Tuesday, the Governor unveiled the University of Wisconsin Flexible Degree Program. Walker announced: The unique self-paced, competency-based model will allow students to start classes anytime and earn credit for what they already know. Students will be able to demonstrate college-level competencies based on material they already learned in school, on the job, or on their own, as soon as they can prove that they know it. By taking advantage … [Read more...] about Reducing Costs in Higher Education
Archives for July 2012
Switching Jobs: How to Decide?
There's every indication that changing jobs is becoming more common in our economy. How should post-college Christians respond to desires or opportunities to switch jobs or careers? That's the topic of my latest Boundless article, in which I unpack four principles to guide us in making this decision. Here's the opening: Once upon a time people grew up, finished school, entered their profession and eventually retired on an employer-provided pension after many years of faithful service. For most jobs, pensions are a thing of the past. So is spending your career with a single employer. These … [Read more...] about Switching Jobs: How to Decide?
Patriotism is a Good Thing
A good post by Brett McCracken on the virtue of simple patriotism: Patriotism is more existential than ideological, I think. It’s less about propagandistic justification for “exceptionalism-oriented” foreign policy (though it can be this) than it is a natural feeling of admiration and nostalgia for the place we call home. It’s the thankfulness we feel for the particular nuances of the world that reared us: the culture (in America: jazz, baseball, the national parks, pretty much everything Ken Burns has documented in his films), the history (1776, Abraham Lincoln, Buzz Aldrin and so on), … [Read more...] about Patriotism is a Good Thing
Five Steps to Date Your Wife
Justin Buzzard has some good advice for us men from his book Date Your Wife - on the Huffington Post blog of all places. Step 1: Call your wife right now and tell her you're taking her out to dinner tonight. Tell her you're making all the arrangements. Step 2: Make reservations, arrange babysitting if you have kids, and cancel any previous plans you had on the calendar for tonight. Step 3: Take your wife out to dinner and give her your full attention. Step 4: Say "sorry." Tell your wife you're sorry for ways you've neglected your marriage or failed to take care of and date … [Read more...] about Five Steps to Date Your Wife
Has Higher Education Become an Engine of Inequality?
The Chronicle of Higher Education hosts a "round table" as it were, asking nine scholars of higher education policy and related fields to address this topic: Inequality is growing in the United States, and social mobility is slowing. A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 62 percent of Americans raised in the top one-fifth of the income scale stay in the top two-fifths; 65 percent born in the bottom fifth stay in the bottom two-fifths.Education, long praised as the great equalizer, no longer seems to be performing as advertised. A study by Stanford University shows that the gap in … [Read more...] about Has Higher Education Become an Engine of Inequality?
The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
I enjoyed this booklet by Tim Keller on the freedom that comes with self-forgetfulness. It unpacks the theme that "the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less." You can get the booklets for $2.74/each, or get an extra 10% off if you purchase 5 or more. Publisher's Description: ‘What are the marks of a supernaturally changed heart?’ This is one of the questions the Apostle Paul addresses as he writes to the church in Corinth. He’s not after some superficial outward … [Read more...] about The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness