As the new school year begins and I begin my work
with 18-45-year-old students, one thing I hear most from students: Am I
receiving value in my education and is there security and inclusivity in my
learning?
Notwithstanding security; will these students be
inspired and supported by their teachers and their administrators? “What will
they learn and how will they establish good habits for study and physical and
mental health.” Will they be happy? Will they be safe?
What is safe? Who is accountable? The student? The
teacher? The bureaucracy? I believe all are accountable.
“The idea of a safe space – in the broadest terms,
the attempt to make sure all students are made to feel welcome in or outside
the classroom – has become a favorite target of critics who claim to worry
about the preservation of free speech on campus.”
The coddling of students who feel fragile, instead
of teaching students to find resources in themselves to deal with distress and
anxiety, some schools offer late night cookies and puppies. To treat students
as customers who must be kept happy at all costs, can be a simpler, and more
profitable model than challenging the student to figure it out and deal with
it.
With mental health and suicide crises emerging on
some campuses, the model of taking steps to protect and nurture students
emotionally and physically is a good one.
Thus, we see the problem parents, teachers, and administrators
have in creating a safe and challenging space.
For different people at different times, safety can
mean different things, but the baseline is certainly physical security. Students
today are protecting themselves more, which is a good thing. What I worry about
in this model of safe spaces is in fact encouraging the isolation of groups of
students from questions and issues that might take them outside their comfort spaces.
Today in our culture groups are siloing themselves
in bubbles that protect them from competing points of view; this through social
media and economic segregation. Our campuses should be safe but also places
that encourage intellectual diversity with scholarly exchange and academic
freedom.
Respect, inclusion, academic freedom, all promote an
encompassing “safe space”. Students and their families make huge sacrifices and
commitments to seek learning. It is the responsibility of teachers, administrators,
and civic leaders to make this happen.
LABOR DAY
2019 - Happy Labor Day! Thanks to all who labor while some of us get a few
last hours of summer. And so sorry for all those in Dorian's track — Godspeed
for the hours ahead.
On this Labor Day 2019 America has half as many union
members today as 35 years ago.
The percentage of U.S. workers who are union members
fell from 20.1% in 1983 to just 10.5% in 2018, according to the Pew Research
Center.
Dying union membership has been most pronounced in
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all states where
manufacturing employment has plummeted, and President Trump won in 2016.
The main reasons for the decline, according to
Brookings:
• The
shift from manufacturing to a services-based economy.
• More
people are getting college degrees, and workers with a high school degree or
less have typically been more likely to have union jobs.
• The
rise of tech, with the attraction of more high-paying, nonunion jobs for the
highest-skilled workers.
• Deregulation,
which made it easier for nonunion employers to compete.
• The
spread of right-to-work legislation, which allows for some workers to receive
the benefits of unions without paying dues.
• Aggressive
employers who have used tactics like delaying union elections, hiring
consultants to help fight unionization and publicly opposing unions.
Public sector unions have maintained their strength
over the past several decades, according to Brookings.
But a recent Supreme Court decision preventing
public sector unions from collecting fees from nonunion employees could hurt
membership.
If you’re fortunate enough to have Labor Day off
from work, the most important thing on your to-do list today is to actually
take the day off. Studies have shown that people send only 40 percent less
email on holiday Mondays compared with regular Mondays. (Thank you, smartphones
and tablets.) Not only that but taking time to let your brain rest and recover
“literally makes us more creative, better at problem-solving, better at coming
up with creative ideas.”
So, great, we’re all out of work mode and ready to
enjoy the day. But what to do? Here are a few suggestions on how best to spend
your day off.
Embrace laziness
Yes, yes, you’re busy, I’m busy, we’re busy-ing
ourselves to exhaustion. But if you have today off, take a conscious stand
against all this busyness. Being busy — if we even are busy — is rarely the
status indicator we’ve come to believe it is. Nonetheless, the impact is real,
and instances of burnout, anxiety disorders and stress-related diseases are on
the rise.
Forgive someone
What does holding onto grudges really get us, aside
from amusing anecdotes at parties? And what could we gain from giving them up?
As it turns out, quite a lot: A 2006 study suggested that “skills-based
forgiveness training may prove effective in reducing anger as a coping style,
reducing perceived stress and physical health symptoms, and thereby may help
reduce” the stress we put on our immune and cardiovascular systems.
Do that one thing you’ve been putting
off
Yeah, yeah, you’ll get to it sometime — it’s the
little fib we all tell ourselves to get out of doing the things on our to-do
list that are hanging over our heads. But today is a great day just to get it
done! Send that email, finish up that task at home, send that holiday thank-you
note you still haven’t gotten around to.
Do absolutely nothing (My Favorite)
Not much more to say here! Give yourself permission
to plant in front of the TV today, read a book, recharge your batteries and get
a good night’s sleep.
ON THIS DATE – World War II started 80 years ago today — on Sept. 1, 1939 — when Hitler's
Nazi Germany invaded and bombarded Poland, triggering a nearly six-year world
conflict that left more than 70 million people dead.
An International Herald Tribune editorial the next
day, "Hitler Draws the Sword," nailed it:
The curtain seems to have lifted on what may be the
worst drama in the history of our modern civilization.
At a commemoration in Warsaw yesterday that's being
attended by Vice President Pence, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
recalled World War II as a "German crime."
In Poland and across Eastern Europe, many feel that
their people’s suffering has never been adequately recognized, or that they
have been unfairly tarnished for their behavior at that time.
Politicians are now exploiting those grievances in a
new era of nationalism.
For Americans and others, World War II might seem a
black-and-white story of good defeating evil, with the Allies fighting far from
home to defeat Adolf Hitler’s genocidal regime and open a new era of peace and
liberty.
But from the Baltics and Poland to Hungary and
Russia, where fighting, deportations and mass executions happened, there are
many shades of gray: heroic resistance and martyrdom, but also collaboration.
POLITICS 101 - Three questions should define this Fall, 2019 on Capitol Hill:
Will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allow a vote on
President Trump's top legislative priority: the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement?
White House officials are quietly optimistic and say that Pelosi seems to have
been negotiating with Bob Lighthizer in good faith.
Will Congress pass any major gun legislation to
respond to the epidemic of mass shootings? Most officials in the White House
and on the Hill think that any legislative fixes would be modest and narrow.
How will Congress avoid a government shutdown on
Sept. 30 when spending bills expire? Congress is expected to pass a smaller
spending bill by Sept. 30 to fund a few departments: possibly Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Defense. Lawmakers will likely wrap the rest of the
government's spending into a short-term bill (a continuing resolution) to stave
off a shutdown and buy each side more time to negotiate.
MARKET MONTH
(AUGUST) – Stocks: Wall St. pregamed this week’s gains with
four straight weeks of losses, and August was only the second monthly decline
for stocks this year.
The trade war? Not great for stocks. U.S.-China
uncertainty and concerns over global economic growth sent investors from risky
equities into the warm embrace of…
Bonds: Government debt prices jumped, sending yields
to historic lows. The 30-year Treasury yield dove under 2% for the first time.
And the dreaded yield curve inversion became its most inverted since 2007.
$17 trillion of global bonds have sub-zero yields,
meaning investors are willing to pay someone to store their money safely. And
finally...
Currencies: China’s yuan registered its biggest
monthly drop relative to the dollar in more than 25 years in August, down 3.8%.
A weaker yuan would boost the competitiveness of Chinese exports and somewhat
mute the effects of U.S. tariffs, but currency depreciation is a dangerous road
to travel.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week Salma Hayek (53),
Jessica Naccache …famous health care administrator, Bob Newhart (90), Keanu
Reeves (55), Lily Tomlin (80).
COLLEGE CHRONICLES - For the past several
decades, college costs have steadily increased, rising fastest at four-year
public universities.
According to the College
Board’s 2018 Trends in College Pricing Report, from 1988 to 2018, sticker
prices doubled private nonprofit four-year schools but tripled for in-state
students at four-year public universities. During the 2018-2019 school year,
published in‐state tuition and fees at public four‐year schools averaged
$10,230.
But these costs can be
significantly higher for out-of-state students. The College Board estimates
that out-of-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions rose by
$620, from $25,670 during the 2017-2018 school year to $26,290 during the
2018-2019 school year.
The difference in cost
for out-of-state and in-state students can be significant, including at some of
the country’s most respected public institutions. At the University of
Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, estimated tuition and fees for the 2019-2020 school
year is $15,558 for in-state freshmen and sophomores and $17,522 for in-state
juniors and seniors. But for out-of-state students these costs are $51,200 for
freshmen and sophomores and $54,794 for juniors and seniors.
The school also estimates
that for all students, room and board is about $12,000 for a standard double
room and that books and supplies costs a little over $1,000 per year.
It is typical for public
universities to charge out-of-state students significantly more than in-state
students, and many schools use the extra funds to subsidize costs for in-state
students and to provide scholarships.
According to the
University of Michigan’s website, the school is “the only public university in
Michigan that covers 100% of demonstrated financial need of eligible Michigan
residents” and roughly “70% of all in-state U-M undergraduate students receive
some form of financial aid.”
The school states that
qualifying in-state students from families that make $65,000 get free tuition
for up to four years of full-time study. In-state students from families that
make up to $180,000 qualify for some tuition support.
Here are the typical
financial aid packages offered to qualified Michigan families:
Families making between
$65,000 and $95,000
Percent of applicants who
qualify for aid: 97%
Average scholarship and
grant aid: $15,309
Average tuition after
scholarship and grant aid: $1,387
Families making between
$95,000 and 125,000
Percent of applicants who
qualify for aid: 89%
Average scholarship and
grant aid: $9,583
Average tuition after
scholarship and grant aid: $7,113
Families making between
$125,000 and 150,000
Percent of applicants who
qualify for aid: 68%
Average scholarship and
grant aid: $6,011
Average tuition after
scholarship and grant aid: $10,685
Families making between
$150,000 and 180,000
Percent of applicants who
qualify for aid: 63%
Average scholarship and
grant aid: $4,533
Average tuition after
scholarship and grant aid: $12,163
At public universities
like the University of Michigan, the percentage of out-of-state students, who
often do not qualify for the aid reserved for in-state students, is increasing.
According to The Washington Post, in 2006 64% of University of Michigan
freshmen were from Michigan. In 2016, just 51% were from the state.
Over the past several
decades, the cost of earning a college diploma has increased dramatically,
exacerbating a student debt crisis that’s resulted in millions of Americans
collectively holding over $1.5 trillion in student loans.
According to the College
Board’s 2018 Trends in College Pricing Report, from 1988 to 2018, sticker
prices tripled at public four-year schools and doubled at public two-year and
private non-profit four-year schools.
These private non-profit
four-year schools have some of the highest four-year graduation rates, and
graduate some of the highest-earning students, but they also have the biggest
sticker prices.
During the 2018 - 2019
school year, the reported tuition at private non-profit four-year schools is an
average $35,830. But in reality, many students end up paying far less.
Here’s how. College
“sticker prices” include tuition, fees, room and board (TFRB) and do not
account for scholarships, grants and tax benefits. The College Board broke down
what the average net price of college is today – taking scholarships and grants
into account – and found that students typically pay less than the published
price.
In fact, the average net
price of tuition and fees in 2019 is $14,610 at private nonprofit four-year
schools. These students typically receive an average $21,220 in grant aid and
tax benefits.
Similar discounts are
also in effect at public colleges. During the 2018 - 2019 school year, the
reported sticker price for in-state students is $10,230 at public four-year
schools, but the average net tuition and fees is closer to $3,740.
It’s good news for
students startled by the sky-high prices they see in college brochures, though
they should still be aware of the ways in which many college students end up
spending more than they anticipated.
Many students
underestimate the cost of living expenses when they go to college, and
according to a survey from researchers at Temple University and the college
affordability-focused Wisconsin HOPE Lab, more than a third of students
struggle with basic needs such as food and housing.
Prospective students also
often overlook graduation rates when they are considering colleges, but they
can be an important measure of a school’s quality and cost. According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, just 40 percent of first-time full-time
bachelor’s students earn their degree in four years, and only 59 percent earn
their bachelor’s in six years. With more than half of students struggling to
graduate in four years, most students are forced to take — and pay for — extra
years of college.
Four-year graduation
rates tend to be highest among private four-year schools, and at many large
public institutions students must wait to register for the classes they need to
graduate in four years until there’s space. The result is that even if the stated
yearly tuition at one of these schools is less expensive than another school,
the overall cost to the student may end up being more.
For this reason, students
may want to estimate what six years of tuition and fees will cost them at
schools with low four-year graduation rates and be mindful of planning their
schedules and making the most of AP and other college credits.
BARLEY SANDWICH - College football's savior: A decade ago, West
Virginia was dealing with a binge-drinking problem at football games. Though
alcohol wasn't sold in the stadium, its re-entry policy allowed fans to leave
at halftime, lubricate themselves and return for the second half.
The solution: In 2011,
West Virginia began selling beer inside the stadium and banned re-entry. The results
were so good (revenue was up, alcohol-related incidents were down) that more
universities followed suit, warming to the idea of in-stadium beer sales as a
form of public safety.
Meanwhile, average
attendance for FBS schools began to decline and has now fallen for five
straight years, causing even more schools to embrace beer as a way to get butts
in seats.
Add those two things
together and you can see why the Southeastern Conference lifted its longtime
ban on alcohol sales in public seating areas starting this season.
⚽️ Dollar Beer Night
magic: In 2017, Phoenix Rising of the USL Championship (one tier below MLS)
launched Dollar Beer Night as a way to get fans out to midweek matches. It has
turned into something much more.
The team has yet to lose
or tie on Dollar Beer Night, extending their record to 13-0-0 on Friday.
Merchandise is now being sold, the national media (hi) is paying attention and
Bud Light even sent the Bud Knight to enhance the fun.
Per ESPN: "The
club's limit is four beers (48 oz.) per purchase but no limits on purchases and
most fans, at least early in the evening, carried one or two. But as the night
wore on, more fans opted for convenience, buying three or four at a time."
⚾️ MiLB's craft beer boom:
The craft beer industry has exploded over the last decade and now makes up
13.2% of the beer market by volume. A perfect match for these local operations?
Minor league baseball teams.
The small size of most
craft breweries "matches up well with the marketing budgets of Minor
League Baseball," Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association,
told Front Office Sports. "Teams are always trying to find a deeper local
connection and the same goes for breweries."
That would explain the
growing trend of minor league teams going beyond simply offering beer on tap
and partnering with local breweries to serve up their own exclusive brand of
team beer.
AFC East - New England Patriots AFC North – Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South – Houston Texans AFC West – Los Angeles
Chargers
AFC Wildcards – Kansas City Chiefs,
Cleveland Browns
AFC Champs – Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East – Philadelphia Eagles NFC North – Chicago Bears
NFC South – New Orleans Saints NFC West – Los Angeles Rams
NFC Wildcards – Dallas Cowboys,
Minnesota Vikings
NFC Champs – New Orleans Saints
Super Bowl Champs – New Orleans Saints
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL POWER RANKINGS –
The top five teams heading into the last
four weeks of the season: 1). New York Yankees, 2). Los Angeles Dodgers, 3).
Houston Astros, 4). Atlanta Braves, 5). Washington Nationals.
The top five bad teams heading into the
final four weeks of the season: 1). Detroit Tigers, 2). Detroit Tigers, 3).
Detroit Tigers, 4). Detroit Tigers, 5). Detroit Tigers.
SWAMI’S WEEK
TOP PICKS
–
NFL Football Pick of the Week – Thursday 9/5, 8:15 PM (ET), NBC: Green Bay
Packers (0-0) vs. Chicago Bears (0-0). Season 100 for the NFL kicks off and who
better to start than The Pack and Da’ Bears. Bears are three point favorites
(46.5). We like Da’ Bears as well and to cover, Chicago 24 Green Bay 17.
(Season to Date 0-0)
NFL Football Pick of the Week – Sunday 9/15, 4:00 PM (ET), CBS: Kansas City
Chiefs (0-0) vs. Oakland (Las Vegas) Raiders (0-0). After watching Hard Knocks,
Coach Gruden is in for a long year. Chiefs win 38 – 24.
College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/7,
7:30 PM (ET), ABC: #6 LSU Tigers (1-0) vs. #10 University of Texas Longhorns
(1-0). The game of the second weekend in college football, Texas in an upset 31
– 28. (Season to Date 2-0)
College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/14,
7:30 PM (ET), ABC: #1 Clemson Tigers (1-0) vs. #22 Syracuse University
Orangemen (1-0). It will be rocking in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse gave Clemson
a game last year, but like last year, not enough my friends: Tigers win 45 –
35.
DIII College Football Pick of the Week – Thursday 9/5.
7:00 PM (ET), HGTV: #6 John Hopkins Blue Jays (0-0) vs. #24 Randolph-Macon
Yellow Jackets (0-0). Both clubs coming off excellent 2018 campaigns, who has a
good start to 2019? Blue Jays do, 45 – 30. (Season to Date 0-0)
DIII College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/14.
12:00 PM (ET), HGTV: The St. Lawrence University Saints (0-0) vs. Norwich
University Cadets (0-0). Both clubs coming off disappointing 2018 campaigns.
This first win is important: Saints win a tight one 28 – 27.
SCIAC Pick of the Week (Football) – Saturday 9/7,
11:00 AM (PT), LeoSports: #11 Whitworth Pirates (0-0) vs. University of La
Verne Leopards (0-0). The Northwest Conference invades the SCIAC and it is not
pretty; Pirates win 48 – 17. (Season to Date 0-0)
SCIAC Pick of the Week (Volleyball) – Saturday 9/14,
1:30 PM (PT), HGTV: University of California at Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (4-0)
vs. University of La Verne Leopards (1-3). A young Leopard club looks for a big
victory in their Invitational, having the best FAR helps; La Verne wins 3 –
2.
MLB Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/7, 7:10 PM (ET) FS: Cleveland Indians (79-58) vs. Minnesota Twins
(85-52). Cleveland’s last chance at catching the American League Central
leaders, sorry, Twinkies win 6 – 3. (Season to Date 6-3)
MLB Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/14, 4:05 PM (ET) MLB: Atlanta Braves (85-54) vs. Washington
Nationals (77-59). Nats have been one of the best teams in the National League
since the All-Star break, they win this one, 4 – 3.
English Premier League Pick of the Week – Saturday 9/14, 7:00 AM (PT) CNBC: Manchester United (1-2-1) vs.
Leicester City (2-2-0), Man U needs to get on track, they do here with an important
road win, 2 – 1. (Season to Date 0-3)
2019 Season
to Date (22 - 18)
OUT AND ABOUT – If it is August that means it is time for the annual St. Lawrence University
derelicts convention. This year Scott Graham ’75 was the host, a lodge in
Collingwood Ontario was the convention site.
Great to see the boys and their lovely wives:
Left to right: Scott “Cat” Morrison ’76, Jeff
Dillon (Renfrew, Ont.) ’76, Scott Graham ’75, Paul “Caper” Gallagher ’77 (we
think), Murray Cawker (looks the same as he did forty years ago) ’76, Joe O’Rourke
(did not recognize him, ha,ha) ’76, Ken Brousseau (Lay Back) ’76.
Millie Morrison reports a great weekend, no arrests
or injuries (reported), and no golf scores were made public.
Next Blog: Words of the Month and Visicalc.
Until
next time Monday September 16, Adios
Claremont,
California
September
2, 2019
#X-8-397
3,828
words, nine minute read
CARTOON OF
THE WEEK – The New Yorker, Mark
Thompson
RINK RATS
POLL – What is your safe place?
_____ Home
_____ Work
_____ With
Family/Friends
_____ DraftKings
_____ I
never feel safe
_____ Hoot
Owl
_____ Don’t
know
QUOTE OF THE
MONTH
– “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and
importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rink Rats is a blog
of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments
and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in
Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.
Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010
Our Tenth Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment