Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Accountability in Schools

It used to be a widely accepted fact that public school teachers had to “burn the school down” to be fired from their teaching positions. However, over the last few years there has been a push various public school systems to hold teachers' accountable for the performance of their students. One article highlighted this push in New York City public schools with regards to granting tenure.

The New York City Department of Education has implemented a grading system that ranks a teacher based on their effectiveness as an educator. The four possible scores are: highly effective, effective, developing, and ineffective. If a teacher receives a score of “ineffective”, he or she will not receive tenure and will be recommended to be dismissed. Teachers can only be granted tenure if they show progress with students for two years in a row. This measure aims to send a message to all educators that they are being held accountable for the success of their students, a notion which needs to be emphasized in public school systems across the country.

Since I attended public middle school and private high school, I have a unique perspective on the major differences between publicly-run and privately operated schools. While I do not want to discredit the amazing teachers I learned from in middle school, it is quite apparent that private school teachers are held much more accountable than public school teachers. For example, the teachers at my high school were hired on a year-to-year basis, so the concept of job security was nonexistent. If a teacher received complaints from students or parents regarding his or her teaching practices (or lack thereof), the administrators would sit-in on classes and determine whether they should extend the teacher a contract to come back the following year. Out of the two horrible teachers I had in high school, both did not come back to teach the following year.

So why can’t public schools mimic this practice?

MONEY (the root of all our problems).

According to another article published by The LA Times, firing tenured teachers is so costly and time-consuming that principals rarely make the effort. Joseph Walker, a former principal of a public school in Van Nuys, solidifies this harsh reality when he says You're not going to fire someone who's not doing their job. And if you have someone who's done something really egregious, there's only a 50-50 chance that you can fire them”.

While President Obama claims he will create a nation that “nourishes good teachers and casts out the bad ones”, it may be a change that will take time and money to fix. I commend the New York City Board of Education for taking a step in the right direction, but other schools cannot follow suit until the benefits of removing a teacher from their position will outweigh the immense costs in finding a proper replacement.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Value of College Degree > Education Debt

While I am fortunate to have parents that fulfilled their promise of assuming the financial burden of higher education, I know other students feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders when taking on debt to pay for school. Since I hope to be a college professor someday, I always search for articles that discuss the importance of obtaining a college education. I came across a blog post that provides a glimmer of hope for students who feel like they will never be able to pay off their education bills. The overall message is loud and clear: students with college degrees will reap the benefits of higher education long after they receive their diplomas.


According to a report issued by The College Board, the benefits of a college degree significantly outweigh the costs associated with obtaining one. One statistic in the article was particularly surprising: “Among ages 25 to 34, women with college degrees earned 79 percent more than those with high school diplomas, and men, 74 percent more”. While universities across the nation continue to steadily increase tuition and other student fees, the value of graduating from an accredited college has not been threatened. The article further discusses the lifelong benefits associated with having a college degree; like lower health costs because college education leads to healthier lifestyles.



So for all of you soon-to-be graduates who will assume $200,000 of debt as well as a USC degree--have no fear. You are already way ahead of this crazy game known as life.

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Power of Self-Confidence

While eating breakfast this morning, I talked with one of my roommates about her job search for a full-time position in the marketing field. She mentioned how hard it is to compete in this job market because of how qualified all of the applicants are. When I was interviewing for accounting internships, all of my competitors had great GPAs; most had legitimate work experience at a credible firm. So how does one stand apart nowadays?

Confidence. According to my roommate as well as William Blazekeski, the ability to sell yourself is key. As cliche as it may sound, if you don't believe in yourself, no interviewer will want to invest money and resources into you either. Students often get caught up in stressing about their academic success, but if you look at history, grades do not define the overall success of an individual. Take Bill Gates for example--he dropped out of college due to his lack of academic motivation, but he became one of the richest men in the world by his ability to convince others of how talented he was. 

I'm not saying that grades and work experience aren't important; however, I strongly believe that they will only get you TO the interview. While some of us are not naturally confidant individuals, invest time into thinking about your accomplishments and how you can add value to the corporate world. 

So message to all of you seniors: get good at selling yourself.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office, Says Citi

          Corporate feminists all across the country are up in arms over a recent leak of a Citi pamphlet given to female employees that highlights the common mistakes women make in the business world. While Citi denies giving out the materials, a commenter who works for Citi claimed that the handout was on her desk when she arrived at the firm. The tips were copied from the bestseller “Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers”, written by a female with a Ph.D in Psychology. While I do agree that it is extremely inappropriate for Citi to impose such paraphernalia on its employees, I read the “common mistakes that women make” and couldn’t help but agree with them. For example, one tip said:
“Women ask permission-children are taught to ask permission. Men don’t ask permission, they inform.”
Since I consider myself a female in the business world (I was an intern for a public accounting firm this past summer), I definitely understood where the advice stemmed from. I hate to go against my own kind, but women (including myself) are not taught to be strong competitors in the business world. Women have fought for years to decrease the salary gap between men and women in the workplace, but we do little to act as an equal in business practice. Whereas women force themselves to be micro-managed because of the need for “permission” from others, men are confident in their skills and abilities and do not seek constant affirmation.
            I am not saying that women are the only people who make mistakes like the ones mentioned in the book, but I think the tips highlighted in the Citi handout should be taken seriously. Women need to stop getting angry about inequality in the workplace; change has to start from within.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Faith in Humanity Restored?

Throughout my academic career at USC, business courses taught me the importance of “the bottom line.” While true cynics believe that money is the only factor that drives individuals, a part of me still believes that humans are more complex than that. I gained a spring in my step today when I came across a blog conversation discussing “The Buffett-Gates Pledge”. Led by Bill Gates & Warren Buffett, they along with 40 other billionaires have pledged to give away half of their overall wealth to philanthropy. Amongst the 40 individuals are top donors like Michael Bloomberg, Larry Ellison, Barron Hilton, and George Lucas, to name a few.
            While I commend Gates for his efforts at helping the poor, I am certain there will be great debate as to how the money raised by the pledge will be allocated. Only a month after the announcement of the pledge, bloggers are already up in arms about who is more deserving of the charity.
            One blogger claims that “rather than helping the poor, the Buffet-Gates pledge might actually make inequality worse in the United States.” This leads me to ask: Does no good deed go unpunished nowadays? Rather than buying 80 more private planes or a small island in the Pacific, Gates wants to do his part to change the world by gathering an elite group to donate their hard-earned money to charity…and people are UPSET about it. While I understand the idea that philanthropy must be focused on the poor in order to bring about the kind of change Gates’ aims for, I cannot believe that people are trying to discredit the generosity exhibited in this promise. While cynics will continue to bash the rich and belittle this pledge, my faith in humanity has been restored.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Public vs. Private

I was one of several USC students to be shocked and horrified at an article published in the Wall Street Journal today regarding corporate recruiting on college campuses. According to the article, recruiters from top-rated firms favor public school students over private school attendees because they “get more bang for their buck”. Moreover, the recruiters ranked their top 25 picks and I was GROSSLY offended to see that USC was ranked below Arizona State University. While I will admit to being an education snob, I can’t fathom that a recruiter from a top-rated company would give a job to an ASU grad over a USC alumnus. This ranking has seriously made me question my relationship with The Wall Street Journal.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Price of Happiness

Since each day that passes I get closer and closer to entering the real world—8 months away!—I find myself thinking more and more about….money. How am I going to sustain the life that my parents have generously created for me? Why are there so many different types of insurance I have to suddenly start worrying about paying for? Although some optimists claim that money can’t buy satisfaction, I’m beginning to think money is the ONLY thing that keeps people satisfied.

I’ve never dreamed about being a billionaire,but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to not have to stress over money. I mentioned in a previous post that I am a huge fan of the Wall Street Journal, and today I came across a blog post from The Wealth Report titled The Perfect Salary for Happiness: $75,000.  This sparked two thoughts in my mind; 1-How is any survey able to come up with a tangible salary number for happiness? and 2-I NEED TO READ THIS.

The author of the post referred to a Gallup survey administered in 2008 and 2009 that split happiness into two categories: day-to-day contentment and overall life assessment. According to the results, higher income always leads to an increase in life assessment, but day-to-day contentment plateaus at the magical number…$75,000. Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist who conducted the survey, states, Giving people more income beyond 75K is not going to do much for their daily mood … but it is going to make them feel they have a better life.

I’m thankful I found this post because it put things in perspective for me. While a high salary makes individuals feel more accomplished in terms of success, it does not mean that you will enjoy life as much as any other person.

New life goal: Aim for $75,000.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Tips for a Soon-To-Be College Graduate

While senior year of college is a very exciting time for a student, the pressures of entering the real world become a harsh reality. While I was fortunate to land a job offer prior to the commencement of senior year, many of my friends are on the job hunt. I am an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal, and came across a blog called "Hire Education", which is composed of a few college seniors looking for work in today's job market. The blog featured an interesting article on the type of skills that employers look for in job applicants, and I found it to be extremely informative.

Hopefully you will too.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Worth the Tuition?

I am a firm believer in the power of higher education. My love and passion for education led me to the realization that my ultimate career goal is to be an undergraduate professor at a business school. I am one of a small number of individuals who attended college in my family, which allowed me to personally witness the effect that knowledge and experience has on shaping the path of a person’s life. I am not advocating that all people who attend college will be successful; merely, that education gives individuals the tools and resources to reach their full potential. Since I am very interested in exploring this topic, I did some research on a few blog sites over the last few days. One subject in particular piqued my curiosity; the signaling theory of education.


This theory states that “to a significant extent, education does not increase workers’ productivity”. However, Bill Dickens’ response to Bryan Kaplan made a great argument for the benefits of education that go beyond the classroom.



Whether you value higher education or not, Dickens provides some food for thought.