The Doctor's Dilemma
“First, do no harm.” As we weigh the strategies for tackling the opioid epidemic, I have been asking myself how we, as physicians and educators, can best honor that primary ethical commitment in a situation where there are no easy answers. As a psychiatrist, I have seen well-managed pain medication bring immense relief to patients […]
The Global Search for Education: Planet Earth needs a new 'Billionaires' List
What if we defined Billionaires as entrepreneurs helping to solve earth’s most pressing challenges? What if we disrupted Forbes Magazine criteria for its annual Billionaire’s list? What if we defined Billionaires as entrepreneurs helping to solve earth’s most pressing challenges? Surely humanity, and the whole of planet earth, deserve a new type of Billionaire? As […]
#BringBackOurGirls Two Years Later: A Nigerian Teacher Speaks
Two years after the Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped, one determined teacher discusses girls’ education in Nigeria. #BringBackOurGirls captured the world’s attention two years ago. And then time passed. And the world’s attention wavered. But in Nigeria, educators like Habiba Mohammed refuse to give up the fight for girls’ education. Of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from […]
Parents: Teach Your College Bound Students that Their Options are Limitless
Education is much broader than what is learned within the walls of a classroom. While many students equate success to a diploma, this concept is too ‘small picture’ in today’s educational environment. Instead, success is about finding value and seeking opportunities that build long-term skills and experience beyond grades in a transcript. Students need help […]
Everything Is Finished. Everything Is Beginning.
I don’t own any Louis L’Amour books. Westerns just aren’t my thing. But I do have a greeting card with a L’Amour quotation on the front. Amy, my former assistant, gave it to me when I ended my college presidency in January 2015, and it’s been propped up on my desk ever since. “There will […]
From the Filmmaker's Mouth
I like talking to people. I’m not a very technical person beyond my art and graphic design programs, so when the professor asked what everyone in the class would like to do on our itinerary, I skipped over the camera and editing jobs in favor of doing the talking and asking questions. The idea was […]
Students Dip Into Their Data Plans To Get Around College's Yik Yak Ban
Illinois College, a private liberal arts school in Jacksonville, Illinois, banned the social media app Yik Yak from its campus Wi-Fi network weeks ago. But some students are still using it. The app allows users within a limited geographical radius to post comments anonymously, and then up- or down-vote posts with which they agree or […]
Why Phones Don't Belong in School
A recent Los Angeles Times’ article reveals that teachers across America must compete with students’ phones for attention. Matt Miles, a high school teacher from Fairfax County, Virginia, says the problem is getting worse: “Whereas 5 years ago, I could quietly ask the one rebellious student to put his or her phone away with no […]
A Teacher's Thank You Note to Her Students: What You've Taught Me
When I graduated high school, I wrote letters to certain teachers who had impacted my life. At the time, I was genuinely surprised by their warm, emotional responses; I was just one of hundreds of kids they’d taught — how much could my view of them really have mattered? Today I received a beautiful, disarmingly […]
How I Failed as a Professional
My name’s Philippa, and I’m a statistic. I only lasted two and three-quarter years in the teaching profession. I’m one of those often-quoted teachers who didn’t last five years in the job, in fact, I barely made it half way to that. I could blame the government, Ofsted, the exam system, performance-related pay, the hours, […]