I appreciate this post so much! I also wrote on my blog for this class about the expenses of higher education. I enjoyed reading your perspectives here about potential explanations for the cost of college. I have to wonder if high-cost administration salaries are not a big part of the blame for the high sticker-price of so many colleges and universities.

I also wrote for this class about my concerns surrounding the continuously rising cost of higher education. I had an economics professor in college who insisted that student debt would be the next “bubble” to burst after the Great Recession of 2008. I, fearfully, think he is getting more correct on this hypothesis as each day passes.

You raise some excellent questions here! I think about this question a lot, particularly when I see the debits from my bank account for the various student fees we are required to pay, haha. But in all seriousness, I appreciate your statement that a student’s mental health is very much a part of their ability to succeed in the classroom, I absolutely agree. I do think it is also somewhat the responsibility of the students to take the full advantage of what an institution has to offer, particularly in terms of engaging with alumni networks and using on-campus resources to find jobs and internships. Thanks for writing!

I heard about this case this morning on NPR! I had previously heard of CRISPR through one of my favorite podcasts, Radiolab where the hosts frequently discuss the ethical complications of this technology. I agree with the other commenters that it is a particularly troubling case. I found the fact that this scientist wanted to announce his project to the world after the twins were born, rather than at the beginning of the work, particularly problematic. This type of research concerns me in terms of the potential “patening” of technologies and genetic code.

I love the 5 R’s graphic! Very useful and makes it easy to remember! As a writing instructor, I too have been irritated with the cost for most introductory textbooks and have kept price in mind while assigning texts.

Hi Jake!

I really enjoyed reading your post! You have such unique insights through your experiences at VT that helped me think past the grades, to what actually works for students.

I agree about intrinsic motivation — I have often found, for myself at least, that I do much better work when dealing with a topic I am actually interested in. I think the same goes for curiosity. While as teachers we may try to help students learn lots of content and improve their writing and communication skills, it seems like if we can situate assignments around something students are interested in already, it seems like we can achieve much better results!

Hi Devin, thanks for reading! I agree that developing teaching styles is sort of a “Goldilocks” approach to find a pedagogy that fits “just right.” That is great advice — thank you!

Hi Dana, thanks for reading! What great advice — I think you’re totally right! Even though having to teach someone else’s assignments can be frustrating, there is definitely a lot to learn, even if you learn you would prefer to do things differently!

Hi Heath, Thanks for reading! I really like your description of how to teach mindfully despite constraints. I agree that mindfulness not only applies to how we hope students approach learning but also how we learn to teach!

Thanks for reading! I agree, there is nothing better than a teacher who is clearly passionate about the subject matter, teaching, and students! Seems like GEDI is a great way to become at least a little bit more like the professors we admire!