Tag: education

SOC412 – Student Loans (Guest Edition)

Abstract

Ahh, student loans… who doesn’t have ‘em nowadays? Today, we’re diving into the complex world of education-based debt with the help of our guest, Sam. How does student loan debt influence major life decisions, like starting a family or buying a house? What role does financial literacy play in all of this? And will president-elect Joe Biden really cancel student debt?! (Pretty please, Joe– we could all use a little help right now.) Sam is here to break it down for us using findings from her own qualitative research. Tune in here!

Keywords

Student loans, academia, higher education, debt, financial literacy

Sources

  • Follow Sam here on Twitter!
  • Ellen mentioned the book Diploma Mills by AJ Angulo
  • Wanna learn more about calls to cancel student loan debt? Check out this article from Inside Higher Education
  • Here are some opinions about student loan forgiveness published in the New York Times.
  • Sam recommended the following books and articles:
    • Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom
    • Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost by Caitlin Zaloom
    • “Sick of our loans: Student borrowing and the mental health of young adults in the United States” by Katrina M. Walsemann, Gilbert C. Gee and Danielle Gentile. Social Science & Medicine (2015). 
    • “Student debt spans generations: Characteristics of parents who borrow to pay for their children’s college education.” by Katrina M. Walsemann and Jennifer A. Ailshire. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Social Sciences. (2017). 
    • “Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be: The Relative Importance of Debt and SES for Mental Health Among Older Adults” by Patricia Drentea and John R. Reynolds. Journal of Aging and Health (2012). 
    • “Where Does Debt Fit in the Stress Process Model?” by Patricia Drentea and John R. Reynolds. Society and Mental Health. (2014). 
    • Sam also mentioned scholar Rachel Dwyer who has some great things to say about student loans. Here is one such article!
    • “Predatory Inclusion and Education Debt: Rethinking the Racial Wealth Gap.” by Louise Seamster and Raphaël Charron-Chénier. Social Currents. (2017). 

SOC402 – Intro to Sociology of Education (Guest Edition)

Abstract

This week we sat down with Dr. Mary Kate Blake, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology from Valparaiso University, for a rundown of sociology of education. What is the sociology of education? How is education a structural component of society? Why is it so important to the economy and the labor market? We discuss the impacts of high school counselors, the journey of going to college, and of course, what education is like during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

Sociology of education, college, labor market, COVID-19

Transcript

We send a big thank you to Meghan Nevil for transcribing this episode! You can read it here.

Sources

SOC316 – PhD’s Guide to Teaching

Abstract

There’s a lotta roles grad students play in the university, and one of them is being a teacher. So, we have a PhD’s Guide to Teaching today to help all of you newbies prepare for teaching in higher education. How do you format an in-person class vs. an online class? How long does a new course take to plan (HINT: A lot longer that you think!)? And why should you NOT friend your students on Pokemon Go? Tune in here to hear our 10 tips for teaching, and please stay safe and healthy out there!

Keywords

PhD Guide, teaching, online teaching, higher education

Sources

Ten Tips to Teaching

  1. Establish a teaching philosophy. Think about those teachers that you loved and why you loved them and try to emulate those approaches.
  2. Reach out to previous professors/teachers of the class. Seriously, don’t hesitate. True educators should be willing to share their teaching materials.
  3. Prep ahead of time and don’t underestimate how much work goes into creating class content/lectures/PPTS/etc.
  4. Don’t overplan the syllabus and have some wiggle room to adjust your course to what your students are interested in.
  5. BUTTTTTT, if you’re teaching an online course be sure to keep a set schedule for students to follow.
  6. Keep track of time during class! You’d be surprised how long you can talk. Yes, you, you self-proclaimed “introvert-who-doesn’t-like-to-talk.”
  7. Decide on your class policies, and be consistent! Here’s a good resource on translating those policies in your syllabus.
  8. Stay professional!
    • Don’t friend your students on Facebook. Just don’t.
    • Dress professionally.
    • Walk that fine line between being nice and hip and cool versus strict and tough. 
  9. Don’t take teaching evals personally! There are a ton of op-eds and articles written about how problematic evals are, so check these out before you let them get to you:
  10. Learn your institutional resources! Your university likely has a center for teaching that you can ask for assistance. For example, here at UH we have the Center for Teaching Excellence that holds informative workshops like ‘how to deal with problem students’ or ‘how to get started teaching online’ or ‘how to manage a large classroom.’ Go to these workshops and hone your teaching craft! 
  11. Bonus tip: USE YOUR SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION and have empathy for your students’ situations (especially now that we’re in the COVID-19 era)! Maybe they’re working a full-time job to put themselves through college; Maybe they have family problems or mental health issues they are dealing with. Remember that students have lives of their own, and in the same way when you’re having a bad day and still have to show up to teach, students may be having a bad day and barely want to sit in class and learn about Marx. Check these resources out to get a better perspective: