There’s no question that an Ivy League education is an asset, but is it really worth the hefty price tag and elitism that comes along with it? According to this recent Wall Street Journal article, the diplomas that hang in the offices of most of the nation’s top CEOs are from state universities or small private schools. This may be surprising, as most people (myself included!) automatically assumed that getting that Harvard degree was like a “golden handshake,” where you are inducted into the elite club which rules finance and business. Turns out, this isn’t so. In fact, only 10% of CEOs heading the top 500 companies received an undergraduate degree from an Ivy League school.

Who are these big-time CEOs with the small-time degrees?

Obviously, there’s a bunch, but we’ll mention a few. First, there’s the CEO of Wal-Mart, H. Lee Scott, who attended Pittsburg State University in Kansas. There’s also Intel CEO Paul Otellini who went to the University of San Francisco, and Cosco CEO James Sinegal who went to San Diego City College. Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson attended the University of Texas-Austin, and Proctor & Gamble’s CEO A.G. Lafley graduated from Hamilton College in New York. All this goes to show that innovation, perseverance, intelligence, and acumen go a lot further in cultivating success that the byline on your degree.

“What counts most, CEOs say, is a person’s capacity to seize opportunities. As students, they recall immersing themselves in their interests, becoming campus leaders and forging strong relationships with teachers. And at state and lesser-known schools, where many were the first in their families to attend college, they sought challenges and mixed with students from diverse backgrounds — an experience that helped them later in their corporate climbs.”

Why Did They Choose State or Small Schools?

Several of the CEOs mentioned that they chose the schools they did because they could receive more individualized attention at a state or small school, whose professors were devoted to teaching rather than advancing their own careers. In addition, they pointed out that there’s no point in attending a difficult, prestigious school if it doesn’t fit your needs, or just doesn’t pay attention.

“You can go to a top-end school and end up dramatically underperforming, or you can go to a place that cares and blow away what everyone thinks,” says Mr. Green, who still stays in touch with his economics professor, Charlie Kramer. A trustee at Dean, he feels angry when he encounters “parents who are afraid or ashamed to say their son or daughter is attending a community college,” he says.

Interestingly, there might be a good reason not to attend a prestigious school: you might be viewed as unwilling to ‘start at the bottom’ of a company, or just simply over-qualified. And as most CEOs spent a lot of time with one company, working through the ranks, it might be a drawback.

“A lot of people who earn degrees from tier-one universities and business schools aren’t willing to start at the bottom of a huge company” and spend years scaling layers of management and hoping to reach the top, says Richard Tedlow, a business historian at Harvard Business School.

What About No Degree at All?

It’s true that some CEOs out there actually dropped out of college to pursue their ideas and businesses. Bill Gates quit Harvard to start Microsoft. One case in point is Steve Jobs, who dropped out of Reed College in Oregon to go work for Atari, and then to start Apple. However, this is of course the rare success story; many more people who drop out of college never make it as far as Steve Jobs, and even he had a long struggle to get anywhere, stating that dropping out “wasn’t romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room so I slept on the floor of friends’ rooms and returned Coke bottles…to buy food.”

However the take-home message seems to be: make the best educational decision for your budget and goals, as an Ivy League degree does not promise success. A student can achieve the same level of success with a degree from a state or small school, its all about the individual that makes the difference.

End of a Long Fight Over….Stickers?

A four-year legal battle by a Georgia school board regarding text-book stickers claiming evolution is “a theory, not a fact” is finally coming to an end. Cobb County School Board was fighting in a federal court to keep the stickers, but has abandoned the case. The stickers, which were seen by the government as a means to undermine the teaching of evolution, were placed on the textbooks after parents complained that competing theories such as the literal biblical creationist belief was not taught. A federal judge ordered the stickers removed in 2005, which the school board fought until this week.

The stickers read: “This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”

Another Page in the Evolution Saga

This court case’s resolution is just another chapter in the fight of creationism vs. evolution in the science class. Last year, a federal judge barred a school district in Dover Pennsylvania (the notorious Dover case) from teaching “intelligent design” as an a competing theory with evolution, stating that it was just a slick re-packaging of creationism which had already been barred. In addition, earlier this year the state school board in Kansas attempted to adopt official stances contrary to evolution, although those anti-evolution members were ousted by voters.

Is Creationism (“Intelligent Design”) Really A Competing Theory?

It baffles me that people would try to argue that intelligent design (ID) could qualify as science, and therefore have a place in a science classroom. I have absolutely nothing against the belief system behind ID, and believe that the tenet of freedom of religion is something that every American has the right to enjoy. My perspective is rather the “call a spade a spade” argument. Science is, by definition, “a system of acquiring knowledge–based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism–aimed at finding out the truth.” Therefore, for something to be considered science, it must adhere to the above stated principles. (The products of science are not absolute truth, but rather what is deemed true given the existing evidence.) In addition, scientific data is procured and theories must be testable using the scientific method, which refers to a process for evaluating empirical knowledge and observations in nature without assuming the existence or non-existence of the supernatural. Yes, it works both ways. Therefore, the scientific method could, in theory, provide the same sort of evidence to both sides of the question. In reality, it has only provided evidence for one side.

Scientific theories are formulated as a direct result of evidence, not the other way around. Therefore a theory devoid of evidence cannot be assumed to be accurate or true (see above about absolute truth). When new evidence comes along, theories can either be modified to fit the evidence or it can be deemed as contradicted and discarded, in the extreme case. ID falls short of the criteria for being deemed “science” in every way possible: no evidence (that would certainly be enough) and in fact ignores contradicting evidence, it is theory-driven rather than evidence-driven, its hypotheses are neither testable nor refutable, it cannot be physically observed in the natural world, it has no predictive value, assumes the presence of the supernatural, etc. Given this, ID cannot meet the standard for science.

Alternative theories SHOULD be debated and explored in the public forum, and a philosophy class is the proper forum. If proponents really just cared about presenting opposing views rather than casting doubt on a strong theory that they believe conflicts with the existence of the supernatural, that should be satisfactory. I say believe, because I have yet to really understand why the ideas of evolution and god are mutually exclusive.

As I am still in China visiting my family there, a news story caught my eye about an ongoing educational issue there: education in public schools about HIV/AIDS. For many years, the government of China has been a bit in denial about the seriousness of this disease in China, and has, in the past, been resistant in education about the virus. Fortunately, that is slowly changing as a matter of necessity.

Not Just a Foreign Problem

Over 650,000 people suffer from HIV/AIDS in China, which works out to about 0.1% of the population. This is still quite a bit lower than the USA’s percentage (0.6%), however when you consider how large the population of China is, and how easily it might spread, this is not to be taken lightly. Furthermore, knowledge of transmission methods and ways to prevent infection is lacking in the more rural parts of China where Western science is not well understood. As recently as the 1990s, China maintained that AIDS was only an outside, foreign problem and only foreigners were required to take AIDS tests. Public health disasters in China, such as unsanitary blood donations, created small outbreaks that spread as citizens remained in the dark about the virus.

China Comes Around, Finally

According to China Daily online, now 80% of middle schools in Beijing are offering HIV-prevention courses—none offered these courses a year ago. China also wrote the country’s first textbook aimed at educating about HIV, which deals with issues as diverse as condoms to online relationships, and has required that six class hours are required every semester in middle school. Surprisingly, part of the education is aimed at countering the current stereotype against people with HIV—it encourages people not to be prejudiced. These changes are all welcome, and important, to a country who is attempting to create a high-quality education system modeled after Western standards.

One Education Under All
What if free education began at 4 years old, high school ended in 10^th grade, and birth certificates came with $500 bonds to be used for college? These educational reforms, outlined in a brain-storming report compiled by key educators, politicians, and CEOs, may be a reality by 2021. This diverse panel’s mission is to create ideas to rebuilt America’s lagging educational system, in order to stay competitive for high-tech jobs as China and India meet the market. Americans have become accustomed to a high standard of living, which may begin to slip away if our economy weakens.

New Ideas Funded By Microsoft Money
The group, called the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, is partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In the think-tank’s report, independent contractors, rather than school boards, would oversee school districts and money would be allotted to schools based on demographics. Teachers’ pay would rise, but their pensions would decrease. The ideas are drastic, and have faced opposition from teachers’ unions and national school board associations—this should be expected though, as these two groups would suffer the largest changes in their regular routines. Much of the feedback from the government has been positive though: several senators have stated that the report merits serious consideration in Congress. This report may be well-timed, as Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act is soon up for review and may be altered at that time to reflect new ideas.

Students Will Graduate Earlier
One especially revolutionary idea would “change the way students move between high school, college, and the workforce.” Specifically, that all students would take an exam at the end of 10^th grade that would dictate the next step in their education “(vocational school, community college, university, etc).

“Now many students just slide through high school, because they know that all they have to do is get passes in their courses or a satisfactory score on an eighth- or ninth-grade-level literacy test to go to college, the report states. “With this system, they will know that they have to work hard in school to get anywhere.”

In addition, eliminating 11^th and 12^th grade would save the school system $67 billion nationally, which would free up that money to be used for earlier education like free preschool. My thoughts on this report are mixed. On the one hand, I do agree that a drastic overhaul of the educational system is warranted. Privatizing schools I believe is a great idea to promote fiscal responsibility, but I believe they should interact with seasoned educators who know the ins-and-outs of running a school filled with crazy teenagers (rather than employees on the payroll!).

Beginning education earlier is a fantastic idea—studies evaluating the impact of early preschool and HeadStart programs have all been overwhelmingly positive. However, dumping 10^th graders into the workforce or into college might not be such a great idea. High school is about more than just learning; its also about reaching the emotional maturity to excel in college or a job and not all students are ready at the 10^th grade level. Actually, many aren’t even ready at the 12^th grade level!

Global Literacy Tied to Health and Wealth

I just arrived in China last night (although, China is 12 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone so “night” is subjective) on a 2 week stay to visit my parents in Shanghai. On the flight over, I was reading a current issue of National Geographic where I learned that the literacy rate in developing countries has been fast catching up to the developed world over the past 35 years. Literacy, which specifically refers to the ability to read and write, affects more than its name suggests: it is also a litmus test of the education level of that country’s general population.

Raising the level of literacy in a nation has far-reaching effects, as all the knowledge contained in books is useless to those who cannot read it. From understanding medicine labels and road signs, to opening up new pathways of thought, increasing the ‘global level’ of literacy is an important goal.

In the past few decades, this global level of literacy has grown dramatically as the world is becoming increasingly interconnected through economics, politics, and the internet. A quick snapshot of current literacy levels:

• Europe 99% (94% in 1970)
• Americas (North and South) 94% (85% in 1970)
• Asia 78% (51% in 1970)
• Africa 65% (28% in 1970)

Importantly, increasing literacy levels is correlated with higher per capita gross domestic product (a measure of the wealth per person in a nation). This makes sense as a population with higher educations is able to be more competitive in the global market. Furthermore, high literacy levels go hand-in-hand with lower infant mortality rates as well (better doctors, medical knowledge, understanding of health and science, etc).

Women More Likely to Be Illiterate

Gender is also heavily involved in global literacy levels: women are still much more likely to be illiterate in developing nations than are men. In areas of the world where women are viewed as property or indentured servants, depriving them of the ability to read is a way of depriving them of a way to better their lives through information. Out of the 770 million people in the world who are illiterate, two-thirds are women. In India, less that 50% of adult women are literate and in Niger, only 15% can read. To address this problem, the United Nations has pushed for global literacy programs, which is starting to bear fruit in younger generations. Younger women in India (ages 15-24) are much more likely to be literate (70% can read) than the older generation. In an increasingly information-driven world economy, literacy rates both a national concern as well as an individual one.

Abuse of Power

Professors and teachers are in positions of power when it comes to students, and unfortunately they occasionally abuse that power. Take the recent case of Elvin Escano, community college computer science instructor, who is currently charged with changing students’ grades in exchange for money and alcohol. Escano was charged with grand larceny, computer tampering, forgery and falsifying business records.

“In a statement, Brown said Escano used his position over a 29-month period as an instructor and lab technician at LaGuardia Community College to inflate student grades for courses and exams: In exchange for better grades, students gave him cash payments ranging from $200 to $2,500 or items such as wine and alcohol.

Authorities allege Escano tampered with computer records in LaGuardia’s registrar’s office to reflect the higher grades. The indictment also accused Escano of recruiting students to promote his scheme and generate more business for him, sometimes paying them with grade changes.”

However, the instructor has received only a slap on the wrist by being placed on a paid sabbatical by his employer, LaGuardia Community College in New York. Likely, they are attempted to be fair by waiting for the final verdict. If he is found guilty, he could spend up to seen years in prison!

Students Use Technology Skills to Change Grades

Instructors aren’t the only ones who’ve been caught in the act of changing grades lately: a senior at Cherry Hill High School in Philadelphia is accused of hacking into school computers to change grades for cash. At least five other students are also suspected of paying him to change the grades for them, and may also be expelled.

“A person familiar with the school district investigation said officials believed that a senior at the school obtained a privileged password to the school computer system and changed grades for at least five other students in exchange for money.”

This is particularly embarrassing for Cherry Hill High due to its prestigious reputation, high graduation rate (99%), and college attendance (98%) of its students. Now that reputation has been cast into doubt by a few unscrupulous students who may not have realized their actions will affect all their classmates as well. Ironically, interviewed students thought that the cheaters may have attempted to change grades due to the high competition to get into college.

Interviewed in the school parking lot, sophomore Dara Weinraub, 16, said: “Some kids act like a test is the end-all, be-all, and make it worse for themselves. There’s more to life.”

Brian Libes, a 16-year-old junior, said this about the idea of cheating: “They can, so why not?”

Zack Rosenblatt, a 16-year-old sophomore, said changing grades was unfair to other students. “Everybody else has to work hard for their grades, so why should these kids be any different?” Rosenblatt said.

“It’s dishonest; so wrong,” said senior Ellis DeGuzman, 17. “We go to a school that is tougher than most, so there is a lot of pressure to get into the Ivies.”

When students and teachers are academically dishonest, who suffers? In addition to themselves (whether or not they are caught), these incidents highlight the ugly side of education and compromise the experience of learning and achievement for everyone. While prison sentences and expulsion may seen harsh, it is important to have no tolerance for these acts of dishonesty in order to preserve the integrity of our educational system.

Is a Degree Worth It?

Ever wonder whether getting a college degree is worth the time, effort, money, and stress? Now there’s evidence to say that getting a degree significantly raises your income level and job success! It seems intuitive that more education would make you more competitive in the job market, but it’s nice to know this equates with financial success as well.

The College Board Report

A report released by the College Education Board this year affirms that receiving a college degree leads to a more successful career, and a higher income. The median income for persons with a college degree is 63% higher than the median incomes of those who have only received a high school diploma. In layman’s terms, that means that if a person with a diploma had an income of $25,000, a 65% increase would equate to about $40,750! Over the course of a career spanning 25 or so years, it is obvious that the difference mounts up quickly in terms of quality of life and how long before you can afford retirement.

Furthermore, they found that the education that children receive is correlated with that of their parents. If a child’s parents have been to college, they are more likely to also attend, putting them in a better situation for success. The report comments that a goal of educators should be to reach out to students whose parents did not go to college, to encourage them to attend. As the global market becomes more and more competitive, it is becoming increasingly important to have a valuable degree to make you stand out.

Surprise: Women Earn More than Men

Despite much previous evidence that showed an “earning gap” between men and women, in favor of men, the College Board Report found that women earned more than men.

Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the College Board and a professor of economics at Skidmore College, addressed this issue among others.

“The real issue here is that at every level of education, women earn significantly more than men,” she said. “However, female high school graduates have particularly few options for reasonable wages. The male/female gap is greatest for high school grads than for college grads.”

Exceptions to the Rule

This does not mean that there are variations in these populations: obviously some high school grads do just fine, and some college degree-holders might not excel. The statistic is the average of the population at large, gathered by the College Board. So remember that while some wealthy moguls or movie stars decided to skip college and still became a success, those are the exceptions to the rule. Its better be well-prepared, and well-educated, that to rely on luck.

Stay After School…at Home

What a concept! The online news section of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota just announced another Collegeville Community will break ground on the college campus in the spring of 2007.

Collegeville Communities®

The aforementioned with be the third such community. Currently, there are two Collegeville Communities, one in Northfield and one in Winona, MN.

One man’s dream, Collegeville Development Group, LLC was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur Jon Petters with the first of the Collegeville Communities, University Village of Winona breaking ground in 2002. What’s different about this community is that it provides exclusive access to activities and classes at St. Mary’s University.

This isn’t simply a “side benefit” of home ownership at the University Village of Winona. This is about a lifestyle; a lifestyle that provides lifetime learning opportunities with cultural, educational, physical and in this case, spiritual surroundings and amenities.

An Active Retirement

The houses are in the $150,000 to $300,000 range at University Village and they’re virtually maintenance free. But more than anything, it’s the community that is laying the groundwork for a more active retirement for many. In fact, it won’t be long until the “baby boomer” generation will face retirement yet today retirement sometimes means the beginning of a second career.

Eventually, the idea is to have Collegeville Communities all across the United States which will be partnered with colleges and universities all over. The response has been phenomenal, not just from homebuyers but from colleges and universities.

The minimum age requirement for most homes will be 55 but there will be a limited amount available to those at least 40. In any event, Collegeville Communities gets a thumbs up for placing education and the culture it affords at the front of the line. The colleges and universities benefit, the homeowners benefit and look at the influence these parents and grandparents will have on the younger generation. The kind of influence that says, “College is important. It’s so important I think I’ll stay awhile.”

We want you to become our ‘resident blogger’.

Requirements:

• 20-30 quality blog posts per month
• Active enrollment in college
• Excellent blog writing skills
• Ability to engage in discussions of education and finance
• Professional attitude
• Extensive blogging experience
• Your own personal writing style

Contact me with your qualifications at this Email:
danielkovach@gmail.com

You may have seen the AP story repeated dozens of times, one of which I caught on newsobserver.com about the marine who’s taking bids on the right to re-name him. It seems Sgt Cody Baker, who will be leaving the Marine Corps in a year and a half to pursue a college degree, has hit upon an outrageous, yet effective idea to raise funds for college.

All it takes is one Idea

You can read all about it on his website, choosemyname.com, but the gist of it is that Baker – who’s married and has a baby – is looking for a way to support his family yet spend time with them too. He’s looking for college money to help him do so. He’s also pledged a part of the proceeds to an orphanage in Thailand, the Im Jai House which he has helped to support for 6 years.

The bidding has already topped $26,000 and if the current bidder wins, on January 1, 2007, Cody Baker will legally change his name to Finest Freshest Fastest, which is the slogan of an online coffee vendor.

Make the Decision

Baker, 29 is making the rounds of the talk shows and according to him, having a lot of fun with this. His mother is praying for him he says. If she continues to pray for him, she’ll likely be praying for a college graduate because Baker has what all of us need. Sheer determination and creativity. He’s decided he’s going to college. No matter what it takes.