An Example of the "New Economy"

I really enjoyed the previous post, and it got me to thinking about a piece Thomas Friedman published in the New York Times a few weeks ago.  The article How to Monetize Your Closet describes how a young entrepreneur, Tracy DiNunzo created a novel business with a little imagination and a lot of hard work. Tradesy, as reported by Friedman "enables women to monetize the used or unused clothing and accessories in their closets by creating a peer-to-peer marketplace in which pricing, listing, buying, selling, shipping and returning goods is seamlessly easy — and with Tradesy taking a 9 percent commission."   In other words, when the marriage fails and you don't want the dress as a reminder, SELL IT! 

How did Tracy DiNunzo do this?

To quote Ms. DiNunzo,  “I used free Internet resources to teach myself web design, marketing and basic coding, and had everything I needed to start a business that now employs 22 people and serves 1.5 million customers every month.”

Wow.

Like Prof. Caz, I wonder how we can open our students' eyes to this coming job reality.

What Jobs Are Our Students Really Headed For?

A colleague sent me this essay by Nicole Matos called "Too Tired to Hustle" from Inside Higher Ed. I enjoyed reading her reflection on the mismatch between the jobs community college students were tracking toward and the "good jobs" of the future.

Courtesy HowStuffWorks.com

From the piece...
Flipping through a semester’s worth of self-introductions is like an obituary pamphlet for Old Economy employment. Again and again, they express a desire for mostly public or public-ish, long-term, safe and stable, even unionized, positions: firefighting, criminal justice, firefighting, nursing, nursing, teaching, teaching, teaching, radiology, firefighting, criminal justice.

Even from our position in the Arts & Sciences, many of our students expressing a desire to transfer out are often seeking the next "safe" career track instead of one that is challenging, innovative, or will require them to forge their way. I wonder if we are doing enough to instill the ideas of self-promotion and the entrepreneurial spirit that has reshaped the modern "at-will" workplace, where your value to an employer may be limited to a short-term contract or specific project.

On those students who come to us with low-self esteem or a previous history of failure...
The problem with making your own luck is that it requires so much previous luck. To be nimble, to be ready, to have the excess emotional capacity to take future self-driven employment by the balls -- you need to not already be tired, scared, in shelter-mode. (Emphasis mine.)

Are we necessarily narrowing our students' field of vision about what today's economy really is?

The Impact of Technology

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times about the impact of technology on our interactions with other people.( Click Here for - Technology is Not Driving Us Apart After All)  Maybe the "good old days" weren't as great as we remember.

The Community College Trap

Ann Hulbert's piece "The Community College Trap" in The Atlantic explores how to create a more "pushy, paternalistic" 2-year college system that provides greater oversight and control over students' choices (and financial aid) in an effort to reduce student attrition rates.

It's an interesting idea as I have felt unprepared to truly help my advisees beyond a token amount of reassurance and guidance into the bewildering (and moving) targets for graduation at our institution. Certainly the additional cost per student (to pay for labor and oversight) is an obstacle for any academic institution with limited resources.


It feels comforting to read that many of our students who "disappear" are not only the result of poor teaching quality, but instead are often the demands that are exerted on our student population. She does put in stark contrast the differences in how much "chaperoning" the students of wealth and social capital receive versus those (like ours) how are often trying to find their own way while balancing other demands.

Do you think that our students would benefit more from heightened flexibility (choosing own classes, can take breaks as needed) or greater restriction paired with oversight?

Welcome to Spring Semester at Greenville Tech -- How to Study

Hello professors and students!  The Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences has organized this little blog as a way to meet and discuss new ideas being reported in the popular press. 

I'll start off our blog with a few comments about an article I saw in the New York Times last year. The piece Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits reviews some of the latest research on learning and memory.  The "take home" advice is  ---

1. Don't Study in the Same Place Everyday --
2. Alternate the Content at Sitting --
3. Don't Cram!!  If you take the same amount of study time and spread it out over several days, you     will remember more than if you pack all of that time into one session.  In other words you get more bang for the same buck if you spread out study time
4. Test yourself!  In order to remember material, you have to PRACTICE remembering.

I share similar advice with my students every semester.  The puzzle is why so few students follow that advice.

And so, my sociology friends, what say you?