the vampire’s university

Capital is dead labour, that, vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks. The time during which the labourer works, is the time during which the capitalist consumes the labour-power he has purchased of him. Karl Marx, Capital  David Blacker has a piece at monthlyreview.org with the […]

Rick Perry and Higher Education

On the newest leading Republican Party candidate for U.S. President, from the Chronicle of Higher Education: … Perry has promoted a conservative ideology in a higher-education policy agenda that emphasizes transparency and accountability and treats colleges like businesses whose customers are students. His associates have been hired for key leadership and advisory positions in the University […]

Denvir: Is American Higher Ed Screwed?

via Alternet: Is American Higher Ed Screwed? Conservatives Try to Privatize College As Tuition Soars By Daniel Denvir, AlterNet Posted on January 22, 2011, Printed on January 24, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/149583/ As in most corners of American life, crisis is the new normal in academia. Investment returns to university endowments have plummeted, state aid is being […]

Virginia Foxx heads House SubCom on Higher Education ( Heaven Help Us !! )

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Rep. Virginia Foxx to Head House Higher-Education Panel January 4, 2011, 2:49 pm House Republicans have appointed Rep. Virginia Foxx as chair of the subcommittee on higher education. Representative Foxx, a conservative from North Carolina, previously taught or served as an administrator at Appalachian State University, Caldwell Community College, and Mayland […]

“Are Too Many Students Going to College?”

The cover feature for the November 13 issue of the Chronicle Review section of the The Chronicle of Higher Education is a forum on the question: “Are Too Many Students Going to College?” People are sure to differ in their judgments as to how that question should be answered. What I want to call attention […]

Chris Hedges | BookTV | Colbert Report

On Sunday, October 11th at 12pm noon (ET), BookTV on CSpan2 will be re-airing their “After Words” interview of Chris Hedges on his new book, Empire of illusion: the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle. I saw this segment last weekend, and then I bought the book. Hedges has more depth and perspective […]

ICR tries again in suit over grad “science ed” degree in Texas

Unwilling to deal with the hilariously hideous complaint that was filed initially by the Institute for Creation Research in their attempt to get accreditation for their graduate degree program in “science education,” the judge ordered ICR to file an amended complaint, and then a second amended complaint, with a maximum page limit of 20 pages. […]

Dembski’s students: Trolling for Grades

At Free Range Talk, we find this , on a course being taught by ID proponent William Dembski: 

Update: appeal v. U Cal win on admissions policy

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has posted an update on developments in the case of Association of Christian Schools International [ACSI] et al. v. Roman Stearns et al. [The University of California]. The suit was brought against U.Cal. by Christian schools complaining that UC’s refusal to count certain courses in their schools for […]

ICR post re: Texas lawsuit

An article has now been posted on the ICR website with the title “Censorship in Texas: Fighting Academic and Religious Discrimination.” It’s more of the same, but I think it vindicates a couple points that I raised more speculatively in my previous post on the ICR lawsuit: 1. I wrote, “It’s written in the kind […]

TX Gov names (fundamentalist?) Chair of Higher Education board

Texas Governor Rick Perry has appointed A. W. “Whit” Riter III of Tyler (TX) chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Does this have repercussions for the attempt by the Institute for Creation Research to get accreditation for its distance education masters degree program for certification for “science education” teachers?

U.C. wins ACSI case

In a decision dated August 8, 2008, a federal district court in California has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the Association of Christian Schools International against the University of California, in which the ACSI argued that the University’s refusal to approve some of the Christian schools’ courses violated First Amendment guarantees to freedom of […]

TX GOP 2008 platform on Education

The Republican Party of Texas has now posted its State Party Platform for 2008. I have also excerpted and posted here the four pages of that platform with the Preamble, Principles, and positions on Education. As usual the Texas GOP takes interesting positions on many things, but in this post I’ll just quote their statement […]

Brownback’s anti-humanzee legislation

Update July 2009: The text of this post below refers to legislation introduced by Brownback in the previous Congress. He’s done it again this year — this time with a number of co-sponsors in the Senate. I may have more to post on this later, if I see anything new on this that’s worth posting. […]

Texas decision on creationist masters degree postponed

What is at stake here is not only whether this Creationist program will confer graduate degrees sanctioned by the State of Texas, but whether Texas will be interpreting its approval criteria in such a way that Texas accreditation can no longer serve as a basis for Science Teacher credentials, or for the NCLB requirement for a teacher in every classroom who is “Highly Qualified” in the specific subject they are teaching.

Creationist degree for science teachers: Trouble for Texas under NCLB?

Would Texas state approval of the creationists’ masters degree program in “Science Education” jeopardize its satisfaction of the NCLB requirement for a “Highly Qualified Teacher” in every classroom, and its reciprocity arrangements for teacher qualification in other states?

more on Creation Institute’s “science education” masters degree

To get a good overview of the Creation Institute’s “Master’s Degree Program in Science Education” without clicking through the pages on their site, you can visit Ed Darrell’s blog at http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/creationism-school-wants-to-offer-masters-degrees/