The Cynical Reason College Applications Are Surging

The Cynical Reason College Applications Are Surging: A Deep Dive into the Numbers

Introduction:

College applications are skyrocketing. While societal pressures and a desire for upward mobility contribute, a cynical, yet undeniable, factor fuels this surge: the increasingly desperate pursuit of a perceived competitive advantage in an ever-tightening job market. This post delves into the cold, hard truth behind the rising application numbers, exploring the economic anxieties driving this trend and its implications for students, colleges, and the future of higher education. We'll dissect the data, examine the shifting landscape of employment, and offer insights into how this trend is reshaping the college experience.

1. The Economic Anxiety Factor: A Job Market in Flux

The primary driver behind the surge in college applications isn't simply a passion for learning; it's fear. The modern job market is fiercely competitive. Automation, globalization, and the gig economy have created a landscape where a college degree, once a near-guarantee of upward mobility, is now often perceived as a bare minimum requirement for even entry-level positions. This anxiety is palpable, particularly amongst parents who witnessed the economic downturns of the past decades and are determined to shield their children from similar hardships. This fear translates directly into a pressure cooker environment where applying to numerous colleges – often far beyond a student's realistic chances of acceptance – becomes the norm, not the exception.

2. Signaling and the "More is Better" Mentality:

Beyond the immediate job prospects, college applications have become a potent signaling mechanism. The sheer number of applications a student submits, irrespective of acceptance, subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) communicates ambition, drive, and, importantly, access to resources. Applying to a multitude of prestigious institutions acts as a signal of privilege and preparedness, even if it results in numerous rejections. This "more is better" mentality has been amplified by college counseling services, often inadvertently contributing to the application inflation. Students are encouraged to "cast a wide net," leading to an overwhelming number of applications flooding college admissions offices.

3. The Rise of the "Safety School" Myth and its Implications:

The concept of a "safety school" – an institution where acceptance is almost guaranteed – has become increasingly problematic. As application numbers swell, even perceived "safety schools" become more competitive. This forces students to apply to a wider range of institutions, further contributing to the surge. The myth of the safety school perpetuates a cycle of anxiety and over-application, exacerbating the issue. It also contributes to the feeling that students must apply broadly to secure any college acceptance, rather than focusing on a smaller number of genuinely suitable institutions.

4. The Role of Standardized Testing and its Shifting Landscape:

The ongoing debate surrounding standardized testing (SAT, ACT) and its influence on college admissions adds another layer of complexity. While many institutions have adopted test-optional or test-blind policies, the pressure to achieve high scores remains significant for those who still submit scores. This pressure drives students to take the tests repeatedly, often increasing the stress and cost associated with the application process. Furthermore, the emphasis on high test scores feeds into the overall competitive atmosphere, encouraging students to apply broadly to maximize their chances of acceptance at a college that considers test scores.

5. The College Arms Race: Institutions Competing for Prestige and Funding

The pressure isn't solely on the students; colleges themselves are engaged in a silent arms race for prestige and funding. Higher application numbers, regardless of acceptance rates, translate to a perceived increase in institutional desirability. This creates an environment where colleges may inadvertently encourage, or at least not actively discourage, the excessive application trend. The more applications received, the higher the apparent demand, potentially leading to increased funding and higher rankings.

6. The Long-Term Consequences: Burnout, Mental Health, and the True Cost of College

The relentless pursuit of college acceptances takes a significant toll. The stress associated with the application process contributes to student burnout, anxiety, and mental health challenges. The financial burden of applying to numerous institutions, including application fees and standardized testing costs, further exacerbates these issues. The true cost of college extends far beyond tuition; it includes the hidden costs of stress, time, and emotional well-being.

7. A Call for Change: Rethinking the College Application Process

Addressing the surge in college applications requires a multifaceted approach. Colleges need to re-evaluate their admissions processes, moving away from solely focusing on the number of applications received and prioritizing holistic review. Students and families need access to better guidance and support, encouraging strategic application choices over a scattergun approach. Finally, a broader societal conversation is crucial to address the underlying economic anxieties driving this trend and promoting a more balanced perspective on the role of higher education.

Article Outline: The Cynical Reason College Applications Are Surging

I. Introduction: Hooking the reader and outlining the article's content.

II. The Economic Anxiety Factor: Exploring the role of job market insecurity in driving application numbers.

III. Signaling and the "More is Better" Mentality: Analyzing the use of application numbers as a status symbol.

IV. The Rise of the "Safety School" Myth: Debunking the misconception and highlighting its implications.

V. The Role of Standardized Testing: Examining the influence of testing on application strategies.

VI. The College Arms Race: Discussing how colleges contribute to the application surge.

VII. Long-Term Consequences: Highlighting the negative impacts of application pressure.

VIII. A Call for Change: Suggesting solutions to address the issue.

IX. Conclusion: Summarizing key points and offering a final perspective.

(The detailed content for each section is provided above in the main article.)

FAQs:

1. Why are college applications increasing so dramatically? A combination of economic anxiety, the desire for a competitive edge in the job market, and the "more is better" mentality contribute to the surge.

2. Is applying to many colleges always beneficial? No. Strategic application is more effective than submitting numerous applications indiscriminately.

3. How can students avoid the stress of excessive applications? Seek guidance from counselors, focus on a smaller number of well-matched colleges, and prioritize mental well-being.

4. What role do colleges play in this issue? Colleges can contribute by reevaluating admissions processes and promoting a holistic review system.

5. How does the "safety school" myth impact application decisions? It perpetuates a cycle of anxiety and encourages over-application.

6. What is the impact of standardized testing on application numbers? The pressure to achieve high scores can lead to repeated testing and broader application strategies.

7. What are the long-term consequences of this application pressure? Burnout, mental health issues, and financial strain.

8. What changes are needed to address this issue? A multifaceted approach involving colleges, students, families, and societal changes is required.

9. Is a college degree still necessary for career success? While a degree remains valuable, its role in career success is changing and should be considered alongside other factors.

Related Articles:

1. The College Admissions Arms Race: How Institutions Drive Competition: Explores the competitive landscape between colleges and its impact on application numbers.

2. The Mental Health Crisis Among College Applicants: A Growing Concern: Discusses the psychological toll of the college application process.

3. Test-Optional Admissions: A Boon or Bane for College Applicants?: Analyzes the impact of test-optional policies on application strategies.

4. The Hidden Costs of College: Beyond Tuition and Fees: Delves into the financial and emotional costs associated with higher education.

5. The Future of Work and the Value of a College Degree: Examines the evolving relationship between higher education and career success.

6. How to Strategically Choose Colleges to Apply To: Provides practical advice for students on crafting a targeted application strategy.

7. Overcoming College Application Anxiety: Tips and Techniques for Students: Offers coping mechanisms for managing the stress of the application process.

8. The Role of College Counselors in Guiding Students Through the Application Process: Discusses the responsibilities and ethical considerations of college counselors.

9. Rethinking Higher Education: The Need for a More Holistic Approach to Learning: Explores alternative pathways to education and career success.

the cynical reason college applications are surging: Who Gets In and Why Jeffrey Selingo, 2020-09-15 From award-winning higher education journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Selingo comes a revealing look from inside the admissions office—one that identifies surprising strategies that will aid in the college search. Getting into a top-ranked college has never seemed more impossible, with acceptance rates at some elite universities dipping into the single digits. In Who Gets In and Why, journalist and higher education expert Jeffrey Selingo dispels entrenched notions of how to compete and win at the admissions game, and reveals that teenagers and parents have much to gain by broadening their notion of what qualifies as a “good college.” Hint: it’s not all about the sticker on the car window. Selingo, who was embedded in three different admissions offices—a selective private university, a leading liberal arts college, and a flagship public campus—closely observed gatekeepers as they made their often agonizing and sometimes life-changing decisions. He also followed select students and their parents, and he traveled around the country meeting with high school counselors, marketers, behind-the-scenes consultants, and college rankers. While many have long believed that admissions is merit-based, rewarding the best students, Who Gets In and Why presents a more complicated truth, showing that “who gets in” is frequently more about the college’s agenda than the applicant. In a world where thousands of equally qualified students vie for a fixed number of spots at elite institutions, admissions officers often make split-second decisions based on a variety of factors—like diversity, money, and, ultimately, whether a student will enroll if accepted. One of the most insightful books ever about “getting in” and what higher education has become, Who Gets In and Why not only provides an unusually intimate look at how admissions decisions get made, but guides prospective students on how to honestly assess their strengths and match with the schools that will best serve their interests.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Democracy and Education John Dewey, 2012-04-27 DIVThe distinguished educator and philosopher discusses his revolutionary vision of education, stressing growth, experience, and activity as factors that promote a democratic character in students and lead to the advancement of self and society. /div
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Economic Consequences of the Peace John Maynard Keynes, 2022-05-09 The Economic Consequences of the Peace - John Maynard Keynes - The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919) is a book written and published by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. After the First World War, Keynes attended the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 as a delegate of the British Treasury. In his book, he argued for a much more generous peace, not out of a desire for justice or fairness – these are aspects of the peace that Keynes does not deal with – but for the sake of the economic well-being of all of Europe, including the Allied Powers, which the Treaty of Versailles and its associated treaties would prevent. The book was a best-seller throughout the world and was critical in establishing a general opinion that the treaties were a Carthaginian peace designed to crush the defeated Central Powers, especially Germany. It helped to consolidate American public opinion against the treaties and against joining the League of Nations. The perception by much of the British public that Germany had been treated unfairly was, in turn, a crucial factor in later public support for the appeasement of Hitler. The success of the book established Keynes' reputation as a leading economist, especially on the left. When Keynes was a key player in establishing the Bretton Woods system in 1944, he remembered the lessons from Versailles as well as the Great Depression. The Marshall Plan, which was promulgated to rebuild Europe after the Second World War, was similar to the system proposed by Keynes in The Economic Consequences of the Peace.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Inventing the Future Nick Srnicek, Alex Williams, 2015-11-17 This major new manifesto offers a “clear and compelling vision of a postcapitalist society” and shows how left-wing politics can be rebuilt for the 21st century (Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism) Neoliberalism isn’t working. Austerity is forcing millions into poverty and many more into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in stagnant political practices that offer no respite. Inventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism. Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitalist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms. This new edition includes a new chapter where they respond to their various critics.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Closing of the American Mind Allan Bloom, 2008-06-30 The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times) and has not only been vindicated, but has also become more urgent today. In clear, spirited prose, Bloom argues that the social and political crises of contemporary America are part of a larger intellectual crisis: the result of a dangerous narrowing of curiosity and exploration by the university elites. Now, in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, acclaimed author and journalist Andrew Ferguson contributes a new essay that describes why Bloom’s argument caused such a furor at publication and why our culture so deeply resists its truths today.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Reputation Charles J. Fombrun, 1996 This work provides an analysis of the determinants and effects of reputation management. It demonstrates the economic value of a corporate reputation, quantifying the economic returns for well-regarded companies, and presents recommendations and processes for assessing and improving reputation. INDICE: Introduction: why reputations matter. Part 1 The hidden value of a good reputation: going for the gold; what's in a name?; enlightened self-inter... Etc.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Explaining Postmodernism Stephen R. C. Hicks, 2004
the cynical reason college applications are surging: How to Change Your Mind Michael Pollan, 2018-05-15 “Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's mental travelogue is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Breaking Night Liz Murray, 2010-09-07 In the vein of The Glass Castle, Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard. Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. When Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Regulatory Capitalism John Braithwaite, 2008 In this sprawling and ambitious book John Braithwaite successfully manages to link the contemporary dynamics of macro political economy to the dynamics of citizen engagement and organisational activism at the micro intestacies of governance practices. This is no mean feat and the logic works. . . Stephen Bell, The Australian Journal of Public Administration Everyone who is puzzled by modern regulocracy should read this book. Short and incisive, it represents the culmination of over twenty years work on the subject. It offers us a perceptive and wide-ranging perspective on the global development of regulatory capitalism and an important analysis of points of leverage for democrats and reformers. Christopher Hood, All Souls College, Oxford, UK It takes a great mind to produce a book that is indispensable for beginners and experts, theorists and policymakers alike. With characteristic clarity, admirable brevity, and his inimitable mix of description and prescription, John Braithwaite explains how corporations and states regulate each other in the complex global system dubbed regulatory capitalism. For Braithwaite aficionados, Regulatory Capitalism brings into focus the big picture created from years of meticulous research. For Braithwaite novices, it is a reading guide that cannot fail to inspire them to learn more. Carol A. Heimer, Northwestern University, US Reading Regulatory Capitalism is like opening your eyes. John Braithwaite brings together law, politics, and economics to give us a map and a vocabulary for the world we actually see all around us. He weaves together elements of over a decade of scholarship on the nature of the state, regulation, industrial organization, and intellectual property in an elegant, readable, and indispensable volume. Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University, US Encyclopedic in scope, chock full of provocative even jarring claims, Regulatory Capitalism shows John Braithwaite at his transcendental best. Ian Ayres, Yale Law School, Yale University, US Contemporary societies have more vibrant markets than past ones. Yet they are more heavily populated by private and public regulators. This book explores the features of such a regulatory capitalism, its tendencies to be cyclically crisis-ridden, ritualistic and governed through networks. New ways of thinking about resultant policy challenges are developed. At the heart of this latest work by John Braithwaite lies the insight by David Levi-Faur and Jacint Jordana that the welfare state was succeeded in the 1970s by regulatory capitalism. The book argues that this has produced stronger markets, public regulation, private regulation and hybrid private/public regulation as well as new challenges such as a more cyclical quality to crises of market and governance failure, regulatory ritualism and markets in vice. However, regulatory capitalism also creates opportunities for better design of markets in virtue such as markets in continuous improvement, privatized enforcement of regulation, open source business models, regulatory pyramids with networked escalation and meta-governance of justice. Regulatory Capitalism will be warmly welcomed by regulatory scholars in political science, sociology, history, economics, business schools and law schools as well as regulatory bureaucrats, policy thinkers in government and law and society scholars.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald, 2009-04-01 This Side of Paradise is a novel about post-World War I youth and their morality. Amory Blaine is a young Princeton University student with an attractive face and an interest in literature. His greed and desire for social status warp the theme of love weaving through the story.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Foundations of the Science of War Maj-Gen. J. F. C. Fuller, 2018-02-27 The Foundations of the Science of War by Col. J. F. C. Fuller, first published in 1925, aims, as the title suggests and in the author’s own words, to provide “a foundation of the science of war, or, at least, of a science of war.” Col. Fuller spent over 15 years planning this foundation, and it was his endeavour that it would allow military students to examine it “not only for its own worth, but in order to think of war scientifically, for until we do so we shall never become true artists of war.” Likewise, Col. Fuller hoped the book may be of use to all other interested readers, “not only in studying war, but in studying any of the activities of life.” “In this book I am attempting something new—at least, new since the days of Henry Lloyd and Robert Jackson; for, as far as I am aware, these are my only two fellow-countrymen who have attempted to reduce war to a science. In a small way I am trying to do for war what Copernicus did for astronomy, Newton for physics, and Darwin for natural history. My book, I believe, is the first in which a writer has attempted to apply the method of science to the study of war; for Lloyd, Jackson, Clausewitz, Jomini, and Foch did not do this. In a few years’ time I hope that it will be superseded by many a better work, so that we all may begin to understand the nature of war, and thereby discover, not only how to prepare for war, but how to restrict its ravages; how to harness it, and possibly, also, how to transmute the destructive ferocity of the ape into the creative gentleness of the angel.”—Col. J. F. C. Fuller
the cynical reason college applications are surging: All that is Solid Melts Into Air Marshall Berman, 1983 The experience of modernization -- the dizzying social changes that swept millions of people into the capitalist world -- and modernism in art, literature and architecture are brilliantly integrated in this account.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Law is a Buyer's Market Jordan Furlong, 2017 Law has become a buyer's market, and it's never going back. Re-envisioning the purpose of law firms and the role of lawyers, Jordan Furlong has designed a transformative client-first law firm that rethinks the business model, culture, service, competitiveness, growth strategies, diversity, and leadership of modern legal enterprises.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Lies Al Franken, 2004-07-27 The #1 New York Times bestseller by Senator Al Franken, author of Giant of the Senate Al Franken, one of our “savviest satirists” (People), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of “slander,” “bias,” and even “treason.” He has examined the GOP's policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He’s even watched Fox News. A lot. And, in this fair and balanced report, Al bravely and candidly exposes them all for what they are: liars. Lying, lying liars. Al destroys the liberal media bias myth by doing what his targets seem incapable of: getting his facts straight. Using the Right’s own words against them, he takes on the pundits, the politicians, and the issues, in the most talked about book of the year. Timely, provocative, unfailingly honest, and always funny, Lies sticks it to the most right-wing administration in memory, and to the right-wing media hacks who do its bidding.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Ethical Dilemma of Science and Other Writings Archibald Vivian Hill, 2013-03
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Linguistic Engineering Ji Fengyuan, 2003-11-30 When Mao and the Chinese Communist Party won power in 1949, they were determined to create new, revolutionary human beings. Their most precise instrument of ideological transformation was a massive program of linguistic engineering. They taught everyone a new political vocabulary, gave old words new meanings, converted traditional terms to revolutionary purposes, suppressed words that expressed incorrect thought, and required the whole population to recite slogans, stock phrases, and scripts that gave correct linguistic form to correct thought. They assumed that constant repetition would cause the revolutionary formulae to penetrate people's minds, engendering revolutionary beliefs and values. In an introductory chapter, Dr. Ji assesses the potential of linguistic engineering by examining research on the relationship between language and thought. In subsequent chapters, she traces the origins of linguistic engineering in China, describes its development during the early years of communist rule, then explores in detail the unprecedented manipulation of language during the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976. Along the way, she analyzes the forms of linguistic engineering associated with land reform, class struggle, personal relationships, the Great Leap Forward, Mao-worship, Red Guard activism, revolutionary violence, Public Criticism Meetings, the model revolutionary operas, and foreign language teaching. She also reinterprets Mao’s strategy during the early stages of the Cultural Revolution, showing how he manipulated exegetical principles and contexts of judgment to frame his alleged opponents. The work concludes with an assessment of the successes and failures of linguistic engineering and an account of how the Chinese Communist Party relaxed its control of language after Mao's death.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Animacies Mel Y. Chen, 2012-07-10 Rethinks the criteria governing agency and receptivity, health and toxicity, productivity and stillness
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Otaku Hiroki Azuma, 2009 Printbegrænsninger: Der kan printes 10 sider ad gangen og max. 40 sider pr. session
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Green Rust Edgar Wallace, 2006 This is a unique work by the king of thrillers. It is a story of Van Heerden, an ambitious doctor who takes over the world and brings corrosive destruction. It is interesting as the mysterious, one-dimensional, anomalous circumstances and colourful language spell-bind the reader. Moreover it is full of intrigues and excited actions that successfully beguile the one who reads it. Fascinating!
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Something Borrowed Emily Giffin, 2010-04-01 Something Borrowed is the smash-hit debut novel from Emily Giffin for every woman who has ever had a complicated love-hate friendship. The basis for the blockbuster movie starring Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, and John Krasinski! Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Learning Futures Keri Facer, 2011-03-29 In the twenty-first century, educators around the world are being told that they need to transform education systems to adapt young people for the challenges of a global digital knowledge economy. Too rarely, however, do we ask whether this future vision is robust, achievable or even desirable, whether alternative futures might be in development, and what other possible futures might demand of education. Drawing on ten years of research into educational innovation and socio-technical change, working with educators, researchers, digital industries, students and policy-makers, this book questions taken-for-granted assumptions about the future of education. Arguing that we have been working with too narrow a vision of the future, Keri Facer makes a case for recognizing the challenges that the next two decades may bring, including: the emergence of new relationships between humans and technology the opportunities and challenges of aging populations the development of new forms of knowledge and democracy the challenges of climate warming and environmental disruption the potential for radical economic and social inequalities. This book describes the potential for these developments to impact critical aspects of education – including adult-child relationships, social justice, curriculum design, community relationships and learning ecologies. Packed with examples from around the world and utilising vital research undertaken by the author while Research Director at the UK’s Futurelab, the book helps to bring into focus the risks and opportunities for schools, students and societies over the coming two decades. It makes a powerful case for rethinking the relationship between education and social and technological change, and presents a set of key strategies for creating schools better able to meet the emerging needs of their students and communities. An important contribution to the debates surrounding educational futures, this book is compelling reading for all of those, including educators, researchers, policy-makers and students, who are asking the question 'how can education help us to build desirable futures for everyone in the context of social and technological change?'
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Last Utopia Samuel Moyn, 2012-03-05 Human rights offer a vision of international justice that today’s idealistic millions hold dear. Yet the very concept on which the movement is based became familiar only a few decades ago when it profoundly reshaped our hopes for an improved humanity. In this pioneering book, Samuel Moyn elevates that extraordinary transformation to center stage and asks what it reveals about the ideal’s troubled present and uncertain future. For some, human rights stretch back to the dawn of Western civilization, the age of the American and French Revolutions, or the post–World War II moment when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was framed. Revisiting these episodes in a dramatic tour of humanity’s moral history, The Last Utopia shows that it was in the decade after 1968 that human rights began to make sense to broad communities of people as the proper cause of justice. Across eastern and western Europe, as well as throughout the United States and Latin America, human rights crystallized in a few short years as social activism and political rhetoric moved it from the hallways of the United Nations to the global forefront. It was on the ruins of earlier political utopias, Moyn argues, that human rights achieved contemporary prominence. The morality of individual rights substituted for the soiled political dreams of revolutionary communism and nationalism as international law became an alternative to popular struggle and bloody violence. But as the ideal of human rights enters into rival political agendas, it requires more vigilance and scrutiny than when it became the watchword of our hopes.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Global Value Chains in a Changing World Deborah Kay Elms, Patrick Low, 2013 A collection of papers by some of the world's leading specialists on global value chains (GVCs). It examines how GVCs have evolved and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. The approach is multi-disciplinary, with contributions from economists, political scientists, supply chain management specialists, practitioners and policy-makers. Co-published with the Fung Global Institute and the Temasek
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Alpha Masters Maneet Ahuja, 2014-11-10 The ultimate behind-the-curtain look at the hedge fund industry, unlocking the most valuable stories, secrets, and lessons directly from those who have played the game best. Written by Maneet Ahuja, the hedge fund industry insider, The Alpha Masters brings the secretive world of hedge funds into the light of day for the first time. As the authority that the biggest names in the business, including John Paulson, David Tepper, and Bill Ackman, go to before breaking major news, Ahuja has access to the innermost workings of the hedge fund industry. For the first time, in Alpha Masters, Ahuja provides both institutional and savvy private investors with tangible, analytical insight into the psychology of the trade, the strategies and investment criteria serious money managers use to determine and evaluate their positions, and special guidance on how the reader can replicate this success themselves. There are few people with access to the inner chambers of the hedge fund industry, and as a result it remains practically uncharted financial territory. Alpha Masters changes all that, shedding light on star fund managers and how exactly they consistently outperform the market. The book: Contains easy-to-follow chapters that are broken down by strategy--Long/Short, Event Arbitrage, Value, Macro, Distressed, Quantitative, Commodities, Activist, pure Short, Fund of Funds. Includes insights from the biggest names in the trading game, including Ray Dalio, Marc Lasry, Jim Chanos, Sonia Gardner, Pierre Lagrange, and Tim Wong. Features contributions from industry icon Mohamed El-Erian Many of the subjects profiled in this groundbreaking new book have never spoken so candidly about their field, providing extremely provocative, newsworthy analysis of today's investing landscape.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Transgender Marxism Jules Joanne Gleeson, Elle O'Rourke, 2021-05-20 Transgender Marxism is the first volume of its kind, offering a provocative and groundbreaking synthesis of transgender studies and Marxist theory.Reflecting on the relations between gender and labour, it shows how these linked phenomena structure antagonisms in particular social and historical situations. While no one is spared gendered conditioning, the contributors argue that transgender people nonetheless face particular pressures, oppressions and state persecution. The collection makes a particular contribution to Marxist feminism and social reproduction theory, through both personal and analytic examinations of the social activity demanded of trans people around the world.Exploring trans lives and movements through a Marxist lens, the book also assesses the particular experience of surviving as trans in light of the totality of gendered experience under capitalism. Twinning Marxism with other schools of thought - including psychoanalysis, phenomenology and Butlerian performativity - Transgender Marxism ultimately offers an insight into transgender experience, and an exciting renewal of Marxist theory itself.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Enough Roger Thurow, 2010 For more than thirty years, humankind has known how to grow enough food to end chronic hunger worldwide. Yet while the ''Green Revolution'' succeeded in South America and Asia, it never got to Africa. More than 9 million people every year die of hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases every year - most of them in Africa and most of them children. More die of hunger in Africa than from AIDS and malaria combined. Now, an impending global food crisis threatens to make things worse. In the west we think of famine as a natural disaster, brought about by drought; or as the legacy of brutal dictators. But in this powerful investigative narrative, Thurow & Kilman show exactly how, in the past few decades, American, British, and European policies conspired to keep Africa hungry and unable to feed itself. As a new generation of activists work to keep famine from spreading, Enough is essential reading on a humanitarian issue of utmost urgency.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Planning for Crime Prevention Ted Kitchen, Richard H Schneider, 2004-08-02 Crime and the fear of crime are issues high in public concern and on political agendas in most developed countries. This book takes these issues and relates them to the contribution that urban planners and participative planning processes can make in response to these problems. Its focus is thus on the extent to which crime opportunities can be prevented or reduced through the design, planning and management of the built environment. The perspective of the book is transatlantic and comparative, not only because ideas and inspiration in this and many other fields increasingly move between countries but also because there is a great deal of relevant theoretical material and practice in both the USA and the UK which has not previously been pulled together in this systemic manner.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Modern Political Economics Yanis Varoufakis, Joseph Halevi, Nicholas Theocarakis, 2012-03-29 Once in a while the world astonishes itself. Anxious incredulity replaces intellectual torpor and a puzzled public strains its antennae in every possible direction, desperately seeking explanations for the causes and nature of what just hit it. 2008 was such a moment. Not only did the financial system collapse, and send the real economy into a tailspin, but it also revealed the great gulf separating economics from a very real capitalism. Modern Political Economics has a single aim: To help readers make sense of how 2008 came about and what the post-2008 world has in store. The book is divided into two parts. The first part delves into every major economic theory, from Aristotle to the present, with a determination to discover clues of what went wrong in 2008. The main finding is that all economic theory is inherently flawed. Any system of ideas whose purpose is to describe capitalism in mathematical or engineering terms leads to inevitable logical inconsistency; an inherent error that stands between us and a decent grasp of capitalist reality. The only scientific truth about capitalism is its radical indeterminacy, a condition which makes it impossible to use science's tools (e.g. calculus and statistics) to second-guess it. The second part casts an attentive eye on the post-war era; on the breeding ground of the Crash of 2008. It distinguishes between two major post-war phases: The Global Plan (1947-1971) and the Global Minotaur (1971-2008). This dynamic new book delves into every major economic theory and maps out meticulously the trajectory that global capitalism followed from post-war almost centrally planned stability, to designed disintegration in the 1970s, to an intentional magnification of unsustainable imbalances in the 1980s and, finally, to the most spectacular privatisation of money in the 1990s and beyond. Modern Political Economics is essential reading for Economics students and anyone seeking a better understanding of the 2008 economic crash.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Shadow Education Mark Bray, Chad Lykins, 2012-05-01 In all parts of Asia, households devote considerable expenditures to private supplementary tutoring. This tutoring may contribute to students' achievement, but it also maintains and exacerbates social inequalities, diverts resources from other uses, and can contribute to inefficiencies in education systems. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education, because it mimics school systems. As the curriculum in the school system changes, so does the shadow. This study documents the scale and nature of shadow education in different parts of the region. Shadow education has been a major phenomenon in East Asia and it has far-reaching economic and social implications.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Anthropocene Back Loop Stephanie Wakefield, 2020-05-08 We are entering the Anthropocene's back loop, a time of release and collapse, confusion and reorientation, in which not only populations and climates are being upended but also physical and metaphysical grounds. Needed now are forms of experimentation geared toward autonomous modes of living within the back loop's new unsafe operating spaces.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Daniel Goleman Omnibus Daniel Goleman, 2004 Emotional Intelligence Does IQ define our destiny? Daniel Goleman argues that our view of human intelligence is far too narrow, and that our emotions play a major role in thought, decision making and individual success. Self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, motivation, empathy and social deftness are all qualities that mark people who excel: whose relationships flourish, who are stars in the workplace. With new insights into the brain architecture underlying emotion and rationality, Goleman shows precisely how emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us. Working with Emotional Intelligence Do you want to be more successful at work? Do you want to improve your chances of promotion? Do you want to get on better with your colleagues? Daniel Goleman draws on unparalleled access to business leaders around the world and the thorough research that is his trademark. He demonstrates that emotional intelligence at work matters twice as much as cognitive abilities such as IQ or technical expertise in this inspiring sequel.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Transforming Teacher Education Valerie Hill-Jackson, Chance Wayne Lewis, 2023 Extracts from the text:Why are fifteen million children and youth in poverty not achieving when we know that low-income students excel in the classrooms of star teachers (who comprise approximately 8 percent of the teaching force)? Whose needs or interests are being met in education reform today? In my own institution, there has not been a systematic assessment of the effectiveness of the basic teacher education program since the institution was founded over a century ago as a teachers college. Imagine, not one ever!Teachers who empathize with students and the life challenges they face soon realize that the dysfunctional bureaucracies will not permit them to meet the needs of their students. Half of the starry-eyed beginners are gone in five years or less. Why does teacher education focus on the managerial, instrumental or delivery system aspects of the profession?The expert advice dispensed by schools of education regarding what future teachers should do is not connected to any theory of learning, or to any reality of life in school classrooms. Why has the recruitment process resulted in a cohort of teachers who are unable to connect with their students?Does a qualified teacher equate to a quality teacher?The best hope of getting more effective teachers from university teacher preparation programs is to base their budgets on the number of their graduates who serve in challenging schools and their effectiveness with children and youth. At the district level, the salaries of hiring officials should be based on how well these officials identify and retain quality teachers.In this book, 12 distinguished scholars provide a hard-hitting, thoroughly researched, historical and theoretical critique of our schools of education, and offer clear recommendations on what must be done to ensure all children can achieve their potential, and contribute to a vibrant, democratic society.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Pearl Harbor Homer N. Wallin, 2001-09 Pearl Harbor will long stand out in mens minds as an example of the results of basic unpreparedness of a peace loving nation, of highly efficient treacherous surprise attack and of the resulting unification of America into a single tidal wave of purpose to victory. Therefore, all will be interested in this unique narrative by Admiral Wallin. The Navy has long needed a succinct account of the salvage operations at Pearl Harbor that miraculously resurrected what appeared to be a forever shattered fleet. Admiral Wallin agreed to undertake the job. He was exactly the right man for it _ in talent, in perception, and in experience. He had served intimately with Admiral Nimitz and with Admiral Halsey in the South Pacific, has commanded three different Navy Yards, and was a highly successful Chief of the Bureau of Ships. On 7 December 1941 the then Captain Wallin was serving at Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the events of that shattering and unifying Day of Infamy. His mind began to race at high speeds at once on the problems and means of getting the broken fleet back into service for its giant task. Unless the United States regained control of the sea, even greater disaster loomed. Without victory at sea, tyranny soon would surely rule all Asia and Europe. In a matter of time it would surely rule the Americas. Captain Wallin salvaged most of the broken Pearl Harbor fleet that went on to figure prominently in the United States Navys victory. So the account he masterfully tells covers what he masterfully accomplished. The United States owes him an unpayable debt for this high service among many others in his long career.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Everyday Life Math Saddleback Educational Publishing, 2011-09-01 The reproducible lessons in each of the six books in this series presents topics students are likely to encounter in everyday life. Each book contains problems that involve estimation, equations, mental math, calculators, and critical thinking. Additional concept-specific skills in each book include graphing, averages, statistics, ratios, and measurement. These 112-page reproducible books include teacher notes and tips, answer keys, reference guides, lessons, unit reviews, and more. Units include: Personal Care, Health, Getting Around, Managing Time, Community, Thinking About the Future, Thrifty Thinking, Sustaining the World.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Intimate Relationships Sharon S. Brehm, 1985
the cynical reason college applications are surging: Development, NGOS, and Civil Society Jenny Pearce, Deborah Eade, 2000 The rise of neo-liberalism and the so-called Washington Consensus have generated a powerful international ideology concerning what constitutes good governance, democratization, and the proper roles of the State and civil society in advancing development. As public spending has declined, the nongovernment sector has benefited very significantly from taking on a service-delivery role. At the same time, NGOs, as representatives of civil society, are a convenient channel through which official agencies can promote political pluralism. But can NGOs simultaneously facilitate governments’ withdrawal from providing basic services for all and also claim to represent and speak for the poor and the disenfranchised? The chapters describe some of the tensions inherent in the roles being played by NGOs, and asks whether these organizations truly stand for anything fundamentally different from the agencies on whose largesse they increasingly depend.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos Primitivo Mijares, 2016-01-17 Author's Foreword This book is unfinished. The Filipino people shall finish it for me. I wrote this volume very, very slowly. 1 could have done with it In three months after my defection from the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on February 20.1975. Instead, I found myself availing of every excuse to slow it down. A close associate, Marcelino P. Sarmiento, even warned me, Baka mapanis 'yan. (Your book could become stale.)While I availed of almost any excuse not to finish the manuscript of this volume, I felt the tangible voices of a muted people back home in the Philippines beckoning to me from across the vast Pacific Ocean. In whichever way I turned, I was confronted by the distraught images of the Filipino multitudes cryingout to me to finish this work, lest the frailty of human memory -- or any incident a la Nalundasan - consign to oblivion the matters I had in mind to form the vital parts of this book. It was as if the Filipino multitudes and history itself were surging in an endless wave presenting a compelling demand on me toSan Francisco, California perpetuate the personal knowledge I have gained on the infamous machinations of Ferdinand E. Marcos and his overly ambitious wife, Imelda, that led to a day of infamy in my country, that Black Friday on September 22, 1972, when martial law was declared as a means to establish history's first conjugal dictatorship. The sense of urgency in finishing this work was also goaded by the thought that Marcos does not have eternal life and that the Filipino people are of unimaginable forgiving posture. I thought that, if I did not perpetuate this work for posterity, Marcos might unduly benefit from a Laurelian statement that, when a man dies, the virtues of his past are magnified and his faults are reduced to molehills. This is a book for which so much has been offered and done by Marcos and his minions so that it would never see the light of print. Now that it is off the press. I entertain greater fear that so much more will be done to prevent its circulation, not only in the Philippines but also in the United States.But this work now belongs to history. Let it speak for itself in the context of developments within the coming months or years. Although it finds great relevance in the present life of the present life of the Filipinos and of Americans interested in the study of subversion of democratic governments by apparently legal means, this work seeks to find its proper niche in history which mustinevitably render its judgment on the seizure of government power from the people by a lame duck Philippine President.If I had finished this work immediately after my defection from the totalitarian regime of Ferdinand and Imelda, or after the vicious campaign of the dictatorship to vilify me in July-August. 1975, then I could have done so only in anger. Anger did influence my production of certain portions of the manu-script. However, as I put the finishing touches to my work, I found myself expurgating it of the personal venom, the virulence and intemperate language of my original draft.Some of the materials that went into this work had been of public knowledge in the Philippines. If I had used them, it was with the intention of utilizing them as links to heretofore unrevealed facets of the various ruses that Marcos employed to establish his dictatorship.Now, I have kept faith with the Filipino people. I have kept my rendezvous with history. I have, with this work, discharged my obligation to myself, my profession of journalism, my family and my country.I had one other compelling reason for coming out with this work at the great risks of being uprooted from my beloved country, of forced separation from my wife and children and losing their affection, and of losing everything I have in my name in the Philippines - or losing life itself. It is that I wanted to makea public expiation for the little influence that I had . . . .(more inside)
the cynical reason college applications are surging: A Therapist's View of Personal Goals Carl Rogers, 2021-08-12 2021 Reprint of the 1960 Edition. Facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this essay, delivered as an address at Haverford College, Pennsylvania in 1959, Rogers discusses man's purpose and goal in life. In his therapeutic work Rogers sees clients take such directions as: away from facades; away from oughts; away from meeting expectations; away from pleasing others; toward being a process; toward being a complexity; toward openness to experience; toward acceptance of others; toward trust of self. Given a therapeutic climate of warmth, acceptance, and empathic understanding, the client moves from what he is not toward being, toward becoming that which he inwardly and actually is. Quoting Kierkegaard, to be that self which one truly is. A worthy goal indeed.
the cynical reason college applications are surging: The Shockwave Rider John Brunner, 2011-09-29 He was the most dangerous fugitive alive, but he didn't exist! Nickie Haflinger had lived a score of lifetimes . . . but technically he didn't exist. He was a fugitive from Tarnover, the high-powered government think tank that had educated him. First he had broken his identity code - then he escaped. Now he had to find a way to restore sanity and personal freedom to the computerised masses and to save a world tottering on the brink of disaster. He didn't care how he did it . . . but the government did. That's when his Tarnover teachers got him back in their labs . . . and Nickie Haflinger was set up for a whole new education! First published in 1975.