Volume 1, Issue 16
by Michael Wagner
Knowledge Pilot, Launch Global Education
It is a pivotal week across the world as many high schools, colleges, and universities reopen for the new school year. Students are returning to what may be a more familiar school experience. In many places, Covid measures are easing up and classrooms are beginning to look normal once again. This is a good thing because students crave normalcy after the past two years; they need structure back in their lives.
As always, there is a lot of excitement happening in the world of education. We hope these articles provide a snippet. Enjoy!
Discoveries
Community college needs to be a positive experience
Make Community Colleges More Joyful
And here is a bonus article from Adam McCann of Wallethub:
2022's States with the Best & Worst Community-College Systems
Dual enrollment
With a focus on the cost of postsecondary education, many students are looking for ways to ease the burden of student debt. Read about one student that turned a paid internship into an opportunity to take full advantage of a dual enrollment program. Journalist Jamaal Abdul-Alim of The Conversation shares the story of student Illias Gomez in Washington Monthly.
Including parents in the college-going process
When students begin to engage with colleges and universities, it is commonplace that schools correspond and interact mainly with the students. While parents play an integral role in the choices the student will be making, parents often feel out of the loop. Liann Herder of DiverseEducation.com explores why communication with parents is important.
Demystifying the College-Going ProcessMental health service on campuses is for students
As colleges and universities emerge from the past two years of the largest disruption in post-secondary education, it has become evident that support services for students are more important than ever, especially support for mental health. Adam Weinberg, President of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, discusses the importance of the issue in an OpEd article for the Hechinger Report.
Why we need a different national conversation about mental health on college campuses
Tip of the week
There is no better time to breathe than now
As seniors return to school the pressure of the college application season is upon them. As a Director of College Counseling at a small boarding school in the U.S., it has become more than apparent to me that seniors are stressed out. Some of the stress can be attributed to procrastination over the summer break. However, the other problem is that as 11th graders many students do not feel that they receive enough guidance and information on what is next and how to prepare for the college application process upon returning to school.
The role of a college counselor includes not only having the expertise and giving guidance on what schools should be on a student’s list but also a small role of a therapist. There is an art to listening to the worries and concerns students have about what to do next. It is our role as counselors to help them not be overwhelmed and to avoid paralysis in moving forward.
My advice is simple: BREATHE. Meet with your college counselor and realize that you are where you are. Set a plan in place and move forward. Realize that it is early September and everything is fine. I have had more than one student feel so much better after realizing that the sky is not falling and there is plenty of time to accomplish everything. BREATHE. You’re good. If self-care does not seem to be working, visit the guidance counselor and talk it out. But remember, it is early in the college application season and there is plenty of time to meet all the deadlines, despite things feeling insurmountable.
BREATHE!
Before you go...
On a recent trip to Boulder Beach, South Africa, my wife and I had the most incredible experience of seeing penguins up close. To say they are the cutest things I have ever seen does not even scratch the surface. However, I had no idea how important the role of socialization is to these cute little creatures. You will see what I mean in this feel-good video. Ahhhhhhh. NBC’s Steve Patterson reports for Saturday TODAY on this cute story.
‘Loner’ penguin given life-saving booties to fit in at the zoo
I enjoy sharing all this information with you and ask you to take a moment from your busy lives to forward this link to someone in your circle of influence. Let’s all work together in informing each other about what is happening in education.