Let me preface this post by noting that I did not, nor do I plan, to attend an HBCU. My choice to go to state schools for my higher education was based on economics. All things being equal I probably would have attended an HBCU for either undergraduate or graduate studies.

I recently came across an article on USA Today’s website that indicated that Black students at HBCU’s (particularly males) have lower graduation rates than Black students at other schools. I went searching for the article because there is some talk around the web that the Obama administration may cut funding to HBCU’s in the upcoming fiscal year by between $73 and $85 million dollars.

If some HBCU’s are, in fact, under-performing, then why continue to fund them ? I understand that this country has a long history of federally mandated marginalization of minorities (Gays, American Indians, Black Americans, Women, etc); however, if a business is no longer a good business should the government be responsible for bailing it out ? Are some businesses so important to our well being as a country that WE should continue to fund them even if they under-perform ?

What do you think ?

There is more interesting reading here regarding the federal government’s funding of HBCU’s.

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In this day and age of school systems bemoaning the benefits of integrating more technology into the classroom I find it completely counter intuitive to ban a technology that is becoming increasingly accessible to people of all income levels. Several of my students who DO NOT have computers in the home have cell phones that can access the internet in their pockets…during class! Why not engage them on that level and with the tools that more people can afford to have access to ?

Just this weekend, twitter users were up in arms over CNN’s shoddy coverage of the Iranian election. The twitter community responded by using the hash tag #IranElection to bring attention to the OBVIOUSLY fraudulent election results. Twitter helped to document history in real time…not at the speed of a huge news network beholden to too many stakeholders. If teachers allowed and encouraged the use of cell phones in a responsible manner we may see the level of student interaction increase…rather than the current trend of higher levels of student disengagement from schools. Just think of the conversations that will be missed if we deny students/teachers access to the real world with policies like the one proposed.

I’m not a proponent of using tech in the classroom just to say we’re using the newest latest thing. However, banning access to something before fully understanding the benefits of its use is draconian governance and irresponsible leadership.

We need this economy to turn around quick so some of the less creative educators can make room for innovative educators who aren’t afraid to take risks in the classroom and change bad policy instead of creating more of it.

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