Brain Waves Blog

Education's future: A choice between complicity and resistance

March 13, 2025

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The Trump administration is attempting to enact changes outlined in Project 2025 such as rolling back civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ students and Title IX against sex-based discriminations, eliminating current income-driven repayment plans, and removing protections from predatory colleges. They are also seeking to eliminate the Department of Education through extreme reductions in force among other measures.

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100 years of social intelligence

March 5, 2025

Educators have discussed social intelligence for over 100 years. So why am I still asked to introduce the topic to leaders so often? Perhaps because language has evolved in ways that make it hard for us to recognize the innovative application of a century-old concept that now means more than one thing. I bet you’re just as nerdy as me; let’s break it down.

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First-year enrollment mistake reminds us that methods matter

January 24, 2025

Everyone with an interest in postsecondary enrollment or the health of the industry seems to be talking about research methodology these days. A 5.5% increase in first-year student enrollment was misreported as a 5% decline due to a data coding error announced by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Professionals are frustrated that “a thermometer for a feverish sector” could have such an inaccurate reading; some maintain that a preliminary report created in response to a worldwide pandemic and possibly carried forward due to its headline-grabbing nature should never have been considered a reliable industry indicator.

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