Has the Economy Affected Top Twelve Educational Trends?

Every generation has sets of educational trends that are constantly evolving right along with the times. By taking a look at these trends, higher-education institutions are better able to prepare for the future students to become productive members of society and world leaders.

As you know I am fascinated with how our children develop and learn, as evidenced from the topics on website at http://www.roccobasile.net/ - especially the underpriviledged kids in the charities where I serve as a Board member such as Children of the City. (Kaylen on right)

Let's take a look at five of these predictions (there are twelve in all) to see if the economy has affected them in any way this last year.

1. Evergreen students - It is the 18 year olds who are bringing the new technologies to college campuses, but due to this fact they expect the infastructure to be in place to support their new evergreen ideas. But this last year the biggest trends included social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, interactive mobile smart phones, and places like SecondLife.com are a great tools to train students virtually. Universities continue to explore new ways to integrate these tools into a productive learning environment and the slow economy only slows down the process of implementation.

2 Globalization - The demand for higher education worldwide is increasing and will continue to grow. There a re 100 million college students globally, and the growth areas have been India, China and the Middle East. Today students must prepare for a global workforce.

3. Techninal and informational literacy. Technical literacy among teachers in increasing, and more are using computers and ew technology in teaching. Students may be device savvy but they need to improve on being information savvy, therefore using technology for academic purposes is the new goal. a wave of faculty retirement is bringing new teachers to the forefront who are younger and more technologically savvy.

4. Enrollment, retention, and branding. Schools are hip to using the Internet to market academic programs, and e-learning online is well under way (e.g. Zinch.com is to help students in the college application process). Colleges have built attractive brands, and are using new methods to enroll and keep students in school - such as call centers to contact students and leave voicemails if they miss classes.

5. Mobility. Colleges are compelled to capitolize on feature rich mobile phones to reach students new ways such as texting, instant messaging, video, etc. Now colleges are exploring ways to use PDAs to deliver coursework, field data, training modules, schedules, and much more.

Just as colleges and universities are experiementing with technology tools to improve learning, our younger students are less fortunate in some communities where public schools simply do not have the government support for funds to provide the technology - especially during bad economic times.

Life is a learning experience ... This is why programs like ChildrenoftheCity are so critical to communities like Brooklyn.

-- Rocco Basile

Private Lender Involvement for Students Loans to End

A hat tip to Wall Street Journal writers Corey Boles and Robert Tomsho for their news coverage on my favorite topic: education in the United States. As you know, my website http://www.roccobasile.net/ covers education and charity.

So just out of Washington today, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would end private-lender involvement in the student-loan market. This establishes the federal government as the sole provider of college loans, and means there will be much change within the federal government's higher-education policies.

What this basically means is that all lenders would be cut out of the market for originating loans, although there would still be a role for private banks and lenders to bid for a limited number of contracts to service the loans after they are made by the government.

What is known as the Federal Family Education Loan Program - this is when the government guarantees loans made by private lenders - remains the single largest source of college loans. Loan volume totalled $74 billion, up 13% from a year earlier.

Obama's administration has said they will use the anticipated savings from this measure to increase grants for low-income students, and also boost funding for minority student groups. This would mean they culd also provide money for school construction. All in all this could save taxpayers $87 billion over the next ten years.

How Educated are Americans?

This may come as shocking news ... but when I recently did some research on this topic, I discovered that the answer changes depending upon how you look at it. High school graduation rates have soared since the 1870s, yet although rates have fallen off in the last 30 years of the 20th Century, by 2000, the percentage of graduates was the highest it had been since 1960. I find this information fascinating, and often record the stats in my website www.RoccoBasile.net.

What's more, the number of college students has also been on the rise since the 1870s. There was a dramatic increase from 1950-2000. The good news is that for all racial groups, education has been rising steadily since the 1960s, and literacy rates for adults has been going up ever since the 1870s. It reached a rate of 99.3% in 1979.

Now here's an interesting concept: How do our children compare to other children in the world when it comes to education? The United States ranks in the top 10 for reading, and in math, we still rank in the top 10 for 4th graders. However, our scores drop in the rankings for 8th and 12th graders.

So you may wonder, why aren't the students in the U.S. keeping up with students from other countries? Standardized testing became a tool for measuring school performance in the 1970s, just as Federal spending on education increased.

If you would like to read more go to: http://social.jrank.org/pages/951/How-Educated-Are-We.html#ixzz0RPL72vNz

--Rocco Basile

The Cycle of Poverty Broken: One Family at a Time

In Brooklyn New York, it is hard to believe that one in three families are living in poverty. But since 1981, the charity at which I am on the Board of Directors - Children of the City - has served the underprivileged children.

The organization started out as a children’s prevention outreach in the early years, but our services have evolved to include trauma intervention, counseling, an after-school and summer program, courtroom and legal advocacy, social work, guardianship, financial counseling, youth mentoring, and other as-needed services to help children and their families achieve success in education, social relationships, home, financial and career.

Almost half of the students who have participated in this program believe it helped them from getting involved in drugs.

Family volunteers like Robert and Maritza Fred have helped to raise over 25 foster children within the Children of the City program, and several of whom they have legally adopted. Maritza is lively and loquacious. They have made a life long commitment to help restore families, as volunteers.

When the kids come home from school Robert takes them to the park. Later it’s time to sit around the kitchen table with Maritza to do homework, read and talk about their day. The Freds treat all of the children equitably, making them feel safe and secure about their place in a loving, nurturing household.

As you know, my website http://www.roccobasile.net/ focuses on educaiton, and the charities in whcih i am involved with, including the historical events at Children of the City, who reaches children at home, at school, on the streets and playgrounds, and at its facility. A dedicated team includes many certified professionals, along with 50 highly committed and trained volunteers who visit close to one thousand children every single month.

During the year we maintain current information on over 500 families in the community representing approximately 2,000 children, and we are able to be a positive influence to the young lives we reach every and every day.

--Rocco Basile

Champion of Hope Event Photos with Gweneth Paltrow

We got the photos back from our July 29 Champion of Hope Gala evening featuring Oscar and Golden Globe winning actress Gweneth Paltrow as guest of honor, with the Children of the City girls. To view all of the event photos, click here.

As you know, as a board member of this charity, I get to work with the volunteers and the kids.

There's more about it, and my other charities on my website, http://www.roccobasile.net/.

Meterologist Bill Evens from WABC-TV Eyewitness News was the Master of ceremonies, as well as the Auctioneer joined by David Tyree of the New York Giants, and actress Bella Thorne.

-- Rocco Basile

The Founder and Executive Director of Children of the City presided over the NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 4PM. Vice President of NASDAQ OMX, David Wicks welcomed Joyce Mattera to the NASDAQ MarketSite in Manhattan, NY.

Wicks said, "Joyce, I’d like to congratulate you and the entire Children of the City organization on the steps you’ve taken to indeed make a difference. You’re leading an organization that has succeeded in impacting the lives of so many young people, by offering opportunities for achievement and success – opportunities that they would not otherwise have had the chance to experience. We hope that today’s market close brings further awareness to these efforts."
Through the ups-and-downs of the stock market, the mission of Children of the City remains the same: investing in the futures of children."

Additional pictures and a video of the event at the NASDAQ site is available by clicking here. The best part is that although there are always ups-and-downs of the stock market, the mission of Children of the City remains the same: investing in the futures of children. I am so proud of Children of theCity. -- Rocco Basile

Gwyneth Paltrow at Champions of Hope Benefit

I am very excited that next Wednesday July 29, 2009 Children of the City will be celebrating vaving successfully served the children and families of Southwest Brooklyn for more than two decades. As you know I cover the issues surrounding education and my charity work in my own website called http://www.roccobasile.net/. The goal of Children of the City has always been and still is to meet the needs of the community.

It is with sincere pleasure and pride that I announce that this year's July 29th fundraiser will be host to guest of honor Actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Master of ceremonies is Bill Evans of WABC Eyewitness News and always a supporter, New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree.

Sponsorship opportunities to support the charity are avaialble here.

Wednesday July 29, 2009Cocktails 6:30pm Reception 7:30pm*Open Bar*
Tribeca Rooftop 2 Desbrosses Street, New York For more informaiton call: 718-436-0242 X20

Initially our success was measured by families overcoming poverty through our organization. This includes a first generation of patrons who are now businesspeople and homeowners in our community, raising families.

It is astounding that most of them came back and continue to volunteer with Children of the City. Economic instability continues to subject many families to drug abuse and delinquency.

Even during these economically difficult times, we have increased the number of programs as well as the volunteers and mentors who have so graciously supported the families who participate in all of our programs, and we will continue to try to work towards success.

Watch our charity's introduction video here to learn more about Children of the City.

--Rocco Basile