My Future

Where do I stand in my Ed.D. if I am unemployed? How do I conduct research from my couch?

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A reason to GO to graduate school, you're surrounded by graduate students

I stumbled across a blog today via ProfHacker of The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School . The initial posting I went to go read, as my qualifying project has been on my mind this week, was Reason #60: " The Tyranny of the Dissertation ." But I ended up at #50. You are surrounded by graduate students. I was taken aback by the comment "The professor responded without the slightest hesitation: 'There is nothing to be gained from the company of graduate students.'"Is this really the reality of graduate school? I do remember having very little interaction with my fellow Master's students. Once class ended, we all went our separate ways. Now I worked a full-time job while doing my Master's degree, so by the time class was over at 10 pm I was ready to call it a day. But in truth, there was no feeling of community, and as there were only 3 required classes I rarely saw the same people from semester to semester.
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The Un-Educating of America

So this week the hits against education keep on coming. I am not going to claim that the education system in America is perfect and that we don't need to work on it. The high school dropout rate is too high, the college drop out rate is too high, and the number of students graduating with STEM degrees too low. Debates should be occurring concerning the role of standardized testing, school funding, teacher pay and accreditation, as well as the core curriculum; what should not be occurring is a debate concerning if our children should go to college. Now, not everyone wants to or should attend 4 year colleges, there are those with other gifts, other dreams and other paths to follow, but not going to college should be a decision based on individualized goals, not on the lack access. This week Rick Santorum claimed that "The indoctrination that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country" and that wanting students to go to college makes you a "snob."
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The Fear of Relying on Others

My qualifying project has finally gotten off the ground. Almost a month late, and scaled back considerably due to concerns from the powers that be here at work. However, the brief elation I felt from finally getting started has yet again come crashing to the ground due to one simple fact. In order to do a project concerned with a cross-functional team's ability to create a useful evaluation tool, you first have to have willing members for a cross-functional team. Due to my shortened time frame to conduct my research there is a shortened time for individuals to do the work. The first hurdle, to get people to agree to participate, was only partially successful. Only half of the members of the working group even responded and some said that they were simply too busy. Maybe I could offer donuts? It is frightening to know that despite all the time and effort I have put into the doctoral program it could all come to naught because I can't get any input. What happens if nothing happen
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