feeling inferior
/No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt, born: Oct. 11, 1884
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Strict Materialism
/If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brian, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true.. and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.
JBS Haldane, Possible Worlds
Acting The Part
/The late Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack once told me that he was at a loss when he first moved behind the camera, so he simply acted like a director.
The feeling of not being up to the job, the belief that the role is too big, is something every leader has felt. It is evidence that the role is greater than the individual—and thus worth taking on. Pollack made the leader's requisite leap into the unknown, accepting the risk of failure that is the first step in becoming a leader—and he excelled.
That adaptive capacity is the most important attribute in determining who will become a leader. It's also the defining trait of the best actors. Inhabiting roles other than the one most of us think of as self is essential to both. So is the empathy needed to project yourself into someone else's skin.
Like great actors, great leaders create and sell an alternative vision of the world, a better one in which we are an essential part. Philosopher Isaiah Berlin wrote that Churchill idealized his countrymen with such intensity that in the end they rose to his ideal. Mahatma Gandhi made India proud of herself. Washington and the other Founding-Fathers shared that great leader's gift of making people believe they could be—and were—part of a great nation. Martin Luther King Jr. had that same genius.
When you consider such towering and theatrical leaders, you realize leadership may be the greatest performing art of all—the only one that creates institutions of lasting value, institutions that can endure long after the stars who envisioned them have left the theater.
Warren Bennis, The Essential Bennis
yesterday's tools
/Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's jobs with yesterday's tools. -Marshall McLuhan
An optimist
/An optimist is the human personification of spring. ~Susan J. Bissonette
the Dictatorship
/Many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity – that is, Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride.
CS Lewis, Mere Christianity
Articles of Interest about Higher Ed - Oct 6
/***THE VIRUS
CDC revises coronavirus guidance to acknowledge that it spreads through airborne transmission
Most hospitalized Covid patients have neurological symptoms, study says
As cold weather arrives, U.S. states see record increases in COVID-19 cases
***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
Under the cloud of the coronavirus, fall U.S. college enrollment takes a hit ($)
Partying frustrates colleges’ work to keep campuses safe ($)
***THE VIRUS AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
Brown University, Providence College Begin Reopening Process
19-year-old Appalachian State University dies from COVID-19 complications
Merrimack College temporarily moves to remote learning after COVID-19 outbreak
Few UC San Diego students test positive for COVID-19, but many shun campus housing
University of Tennessee to hold in-person graduation ceremonies in November
A Student Dies, and a Campus Gets Serious About Coronavirus ($)
***VIRUS TESTING ON CAMPUS
Many Colleges Aren't Aggressively Testing Students For Coronavirus
CDC Issues New Testing Guidance for Colleges
Colleges Learn How to Suppress Coronavirus: Extensive Testing
***K-12
The Students Left Behind by Remote Learning
What We Know About Coronavirus Cases in K-12 Schools So Far
5 ways parents can help kids thrive amid remote learning
Student Discipline Rates Show Black Girls Are Disproportionally At Risk ($)
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Marquette Professors disheartened by potential layoffs
Staff cuts, furloughs announced amid $107 million Ohio State athletics budget deficit
Pandemic spurs more layoffs at Dartmouth College
Mass Layoffs Typically Boost Enrollment at Community Colleges
Erie Community College lays off 3 executive staff, along with undisclosed number of employees
Lack of trust and fear of long-term damages loom after University of Akron faculty layoffs
Pandemic prompts Ball State to cut 128 jobs
Western Oregon University announces layoffs
University of Florida's Board of Trustees approves furlough policy
Arizona University Professors Struggling After Layoffs, Pay Cuts During COVID
Miami University votes on President's pay raise, furloughs 115 members of athletics department
***COLLEGE FINANCES
'Budget Crisis' At Connecticut Community Colleges, State Universities
Colleges: Financial Toll of Coronavirus Worse Than Anticipated
***HIGHER ED
The Enrollment Cliff, Mega-Universities, COVID-19, and the Changing Landscape of U.S. Colleges
Study: The majority of college recreation programs do not have ADA compliant websites
More Doctoral Programs Suspend Admissions. That Could Have Lasting Effects on Graduate Education
Universities continue to block athletes from talking to the media. That's got to stop (opinion)
Why Colleges and Universities Should Update Their Codes of Conduct
***HUMANITIES
The Crowding out of a Humanities Education
***ONLINE CLASSES
The Hidden Expenses of Remote Teaching
Microsoft Teams and OneNote bring these new features for remote learning
Make video presentations more interesting with filters, polls and live animals
Professor Teaches Class While Stuck in an Elevator
***ONLINE CHEATING
Distance Learning, With Shades of Big Brother
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing how students cheat – and get caught
Academic fraud spikes as students study from home
Students Are Rebelling Against Eye-Tracking Exam Surveillance Tools
AI proctoring won’t stop students from cheating, it is just added stress for students (opinion)
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Professors union to investigate Keuka College
The Virus Moved Female Faculty to the Brink. Will Universities Help? ($)
White male New Hampshire professor allegedly posed as woman of color on Twitter
How remote learning’s flaws pushed me to leave my university teaching job
Midwestern State University investigates controversial social media comment by professor
CMU professor fired for ‘hostile learning environment’ after using racial slur, reports show
***ADMINISTRATORS
The Three Lessons That 2020 Has Taught Every University President
Retirement Wave Hits College Presidents
Notre Dame president faces heat for not wearing mask or distancing at Barrett event
Less than a year on the job Wichita State president resigns
Four resign from Beloit College board of trustees
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Pandemic leads to faculty layoffs at Anderson University
Seattle Pacific University will cut tuition 25% in fall 2021
Notre Dame president tests positive for COVID-19
Lubbock Christian University sees drop in enrollment amid pandemic
***PLNU
The Metaphysics of Modern (Same-As-The-Old) Media (interview with Dean Nelson)
***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Liberty University enrollment spikes, despite statewide drop in new college students
Liberty University pays Jerry Falwell Jr.
Ex-Liberty student sentenced in sexual battery case involving Liberty Instructor
***RESEARCH
5 ways to improve the quality and credibility of preprint
What do you do if you suspect research misconduct?
Could Einstein Get Published Today? ($)
5 ways to increase peer review transparency to foster greater trust in the process
***COVID RESEARCH
The rush to research COVID-19 risks compromising research integrity and impact
The carnage of substandard research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for quality
***RESEARCH IN CHINA
China Uses Social Credit System to Punish Academic Misconduct
Chinese graduate students’ perceptions of plagiarism: A mixed-methods study
***RETRACTIONS
How language in retraction notices obscures culpability
A look at retractions for failure to disclose conflicts of interest
***STUDENT LIFE
2 college students plummet four floors while taking selfie at rooftop party
***RANSOMWARE
Treasury Department warns against paying hackers involved in ransomware attacks
How School Districts Should Respond to Ransomware Attacks
New Details on Cyberattack on Montgomery College
Surge in ransomware attacks threatens student data
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Notre Dame Provost creates committee to alter Title IX procedures to comply with federal law
Hundreds of stories of sexual assault at colleges shared on Instagram
the hand that erases
/Only the hand that erases can write the true thing. -Meister Eckhart
A better option than giving advice
/Giving advice feels good, but it doesn’t empower other people. Experts suggest that instead of telling others what to do, we coach them to find their own solutions. This approach is more motivating and helps others grow. While it takes more time asking questions to guide others into their own answers, doing so lets other people develop independence, increasing their productivity. This also frees you to accomplish more.
the peaks & valleys
/One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak. -GK Chesterton
Articles of interest about religion - Oct 1
/***THE VIRUS
This Overlooked Variable Is the Key to the Pandemic
Scientists warn of airborne coronavirus spread
The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Changing Our Dreams
90% of US adults vulnerable to COVID-19, study says
Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
What Pastors See as the ‘New Normal’ for Preaching After the Pandemic
***RELIGION
Sign Language Bible Complete After 39 Years
Making Your Church Manlier Won’t Make It Bigger
China Is Erasing Mosques and Precious Shrines in Xinjiang ($)
***RELIGION AND TRUMP
Former aides: Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Hillsong Church Accidentally Posts Political Opinion During Debate
Alabama governor apologizes to '63 church bombing survivor
How a Sean Feucht worship service convinced me I am no longer an evangelical (opinion)
Young evangelicals are defying their elders' politics (Opinion)
***RELIGION & THE SUPREME COURT
For Conservative Christian Women, Amy Coney Barrett’s Success Is Personal (opinion)
As U.S. Supreme Court nomination looms, a religious community draws fresh interest
The false link between Amy Coney Barrett and The Handmaid’s Tale, explained
***RELIGION & THE LAW
Judge Denies Christian Group’s Challenge To Limits On Religious Gatherings In Colorado
Southern Baptist publishing arm, LifeWay, sues former president Thom Rainer
Megahurch Sues D.C. Over COVID-19 Mass Gathering Restrictions
***DENOMINATIONS
***CATHOLIC
Pope Francis refused to meet with Mike Pompeo so as not to boost Trump
Powerful Vatican Cardinal Becciu resigns amid scandal
***MEGACHURCHES
***PARACHURCH MINISTRIES
After the Allegations Against Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias’s Ministry Investigates Claims of Sexual Misconduct at Spas
No longer hiding
/One of the greatest moments in anybody’s life happens every time he no longer tries to hide from himself but decides to get acquainted with who he really is.
How you thought your life would turn out
/You are constantly letting go of who you thought you were and how you thought life would be. You find yourself constantly in the neural zone, unable to recover your old life but equally unable to embrace your new one comfortably. To the extent that you can let go of who you used to be and honor the experience of being in-between lives, you discover a rich and wonderful way of living. There is no beginning that doesn’t require an ending, and no ending that doesn’t make possible a new beginning.
William Bridges, The Way of Transition
a joy of life
/One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others. –Archibald Rutledge
what exactly IS "critical thinking"?
/Critical thinking entails at least ten reasoning abilities and habits of thought:
1. Consciously raising the questions “What do we know. . . ? How do we know . . . ? Why do we accept or believe. . . ? What is the evidence for. . . ?” when studying some body of material or approaching a problem.
2. Being clearly and explicitly aware of gaps in available information. Recognizing when a conclusion is reached or a decision made in absence of complete information and being able to tolerate the ambiguity and uncertainty. Recognizing when one is taking something on faith without having examined the “How do we know. . . ? Why do we believe. . . ?” questions.
3. Discriminating between observation and inference, between established fact and subsequent conjecture.
4. Recognizing that words are symbols for ideas and not the ideas themselves. Recognizing the necessity of using only words of prior definition, rooted in shared experience, in forming a new definition and in avoiding being misled by technical jargon
5. Probing for assumption (particularly the implicit, unarticulated assumptions) behind a line of reasoning.
6. Drawing inferences from data, observations, or other evidence and recognizing when firm inferences cannot be drawn. This subsumes a number of processes such as elementary syllogistic reasoning (e.g., dealing with basic prepositional "if. . .then" statements), correlational reasoning, recognizing when relevant variables have or have not been controlled.
7. Performing hypothetico-deductive reasoning; that is, given a particular situation, applying relevant knowledge of principles and constraints and visualizing, in the abstract, the plausible outcomes that might result from various changes one can imagine to be imposed on the system.
8. Discriminating between inductive and deductive reasoning; that is, being aware when an argument is being made from the particular to the general or from the general to the particular
9. Testing one's own line of reasoning and conclusions for internal consistency and thus developing intellectual self-reliance.
10. Developing self-consciousness concerning one's own thinking and reasoning processes.
Physicist Arnold Arons, Teaching Introductory Physics
Oh, how horrible
/Oh, how horrible our sins look when they are committed by someone else! -Chuck Smith
Articles of interest about journalism, fakes, writing & social media - Sept 25
/***JOURNALISM
Sheriff's Deputies Falsely Said This Reporter Had Failed To ID Herself
Reporter arrested while covering shooting of two LA County deputies
Karen McDougal’s defamation suit against Fox News is dismissed
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
As local news outlets shift to subscription, they wonder: What should Facebook’s role be?
Are news companies already putting diversity pledges on the back burner?
***FAKES & FRAUDS
Oregon Officials Warn False Antifa Rumors Waste Precious Resources For Fires
Gen Z is eroding the power of misinformation
Does ignoring robocalls make them stop? Researchers uncover 2 key findings
Nashville's supposed coronavirus cover-up was just a misleading story used by right-wing media
***FAKES NEWS & THE ELECTION
Time to ratchet up the fight against misinformation in Spanish. Take a look at this solution
How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election
***FAKE NEWS & SOCIAL MEDIA
How to spot fake news on Facebook and Twitter before the 2020 election
What Can Social Media Do To Slow Down The Spread Of Misinformation?
YouTube expands fact-checking feature for video searches to Europe
***QANON
How QAnon Conspiracy Theories Spread in My Hometown
Evangelical leaders try to take on QAnon in their community
Facebook Tried to Limit QAnon. It Failed
How QAnon Undermines Legitimate Anti-Trafficking Efforts
Why Someone You Love Might Join QAnon
Pence to attend event hosted by QAnon backers
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter to ask users to reconsider before retweeting
Twitter Sued Over 'Inadvertent' Use Of Phone Numbers For Advertising
Tinder, Bumble...LinkedIn? Users Report Unwanted Advances On Networking Site
Scoop: 400,000 people have already registered to vote in 2020 via Snapchat
Facebook will let people claim ownership of images and issue takedown requests
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Average American recorded by security cameras 238 times each week, study shows
Think Twice Before Using Facebook, Google, or Apple to Sign In Everywhere
It’s easier than ever to find out how your favorite websites are tracking you
Mayor orders San Diego’s Smart Streetlights turned off until surveillance ordinance in place
Telehealth vendors are fighting off many more cyberattacks than before COVID-19
***JOURNALISM ON CAMPUS
Missouri journalism profs call out chancellor
College newspaper reporters are the journalism heroes for the pandemic era
Cancel Culture Comes to Cronkite
***WRITING & READING
Here Are The 50 Books Nominated for 2020 National Book Awards
Google Drive will start to delete trashed files after 30 days starting on October 13th
In crackdown on race-related content, Education Department targets internal book clubs, meetings
The Fight Against Words That Sound Like, but Are Not, Slurs
***LITERATURE
You Need to Read Faulkner Right Now but You Might Need a Map
Why AI writing assistants are the next generation of style guides
***POETRY
Barbara Kingsolver's Passion For Poetry Prevails In 'How To Fly'