Think about where you spend your ounce

Several years ago I came across this quote:

"You say the little efforts that I make will do no good; that they never will prevail to tip the hovering scale where justice hangs in the balance. I don't think I ever thought they would. But I am prejudiced beyond debate in favor of my right to choose which side shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight."
- Bonaro Overstreet

I love this quote.  I try to be involved in the political process.  For decades I've written letters to various state and federal officials.  

Recently I made some postcards via VistaPrint.  These were 5.5 by 8 inches.  They had a picture of the Constitution on the front.  On the back I had:

The Constitution of the United States
Ratified in 1788, the Constitution is the supreme law for the United States of America.  To help prevent tyranny the Founding Fathers crafted a form of government with separation of powers.  The Federal level was broken into three branches:  legislative, executive and judicial.  The responsibilities and powers of the federal government were spelled out in this historic document.
The Preamble of the Constitution is:  “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
(Image from: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/downloads)

Previously I had made up a bunch with the Declaration of Independence.  And after these I plan to have an image with the Bill of Rights.

I have sets of postcards where a set will have the address for my Senators, Congressmen or President Trump.  I find it easier to motivate myself to write a couple times a week.  They are sitting there on my bookshelf.  I've already paid the money.  And it is fairly quick to write a short note after reading some news about an issue which I have an opinion.

I encourage you to think about where you spend your ounce, and to look for ways to make it two ounces, or more.  We live in crazy times.  It is good to be involved.

My daughter will not be returning to school this fall

We learned yesterday that the university my youngest daughter has been at the last two years will not be having students on campus this fall.  The whole world is still in flux and I think there is a good chance things will change at least once in the next couple months, and maybe a couple times.

There are a number of movements or changes in our society which seem kind of sudden, but in looking back you can see hints leading up to the change.  Little changes keep adding up until there is a tipping point and BOOM!!!  Then the world shifts and life is different.

Post-pandemic, four-year colleges need to change — or face extinction talks about this. The article points out that because of the Coronavirus lots of parents and students are asking these questions:

Students and their families are asking tough questions. Should we pay full tuition for classes taught online? On the other hand, are crowded lecture halls really the best way to learn? And what is that degree really worth, anyway?

For now we'll hang loose and look at options.

More evidence of seismic shift in higher education - huge decline in enrollment

Colleges Face 15%-20% Drop In Enrollment; S&P Lowers Credit Rating Of 25% Of Colleges shares details from a Wall Street Journal article:

"Schools should expect a 15% decline in enrollment next fall and a $45 billion decline in revenue from tuition, room and board and other services, according to the American Council on Education, the nation’s largest advocacy group for colleges and universities. Some administrators say those projections are too rosy."

Colleges Could Lose 20% of Students reports on a recent survey which found:

• Ten percent of college-bound seniors who had planned to enroll at a four-year college before the COVID-19 outbreak have already made alternative plans.
• Fourteen percent of college students said they were unlikely to return to their current college or university in the fall, or it was "too soon to tell." Exactly three weeks later, in mid-April, that figure had gone up to 26 percent.
• Gap years may be gaining in popularity. While hard to track, there are estimates that 3 percent of freshmen take a gap year. Since the pandemic, internet searches for gap years have skyrocketed.
• College students do not like the online education they have been receiving. To finish their degrees, 85 percent want to go back to campus, but 15 percent want to finish online.

This huge.  A one year decline of this magnitude will probably cause some colleges to fail. 

Hat tip: Instapundit

How are you handling the Quarantine?

I hope everyone is doing OK.

We are doing fine.  It is a little weird finally living Ground Hog Day.

I enjoy how some people are dealing with the quarantine, like:

Interesting article about homeschooling and the coronavirus

I found Harvard Law Prof Calls for Ban on Homeschooling, Saying It's 'Dangerous' to Leave Children with Their Parents 24/7 interesting. 

Paula Bolyard writes about how some in government are worried that having 56 million students being homeschooled and may be moving to try to outlaw homeschooling.

I think she is right to be worried. 

Is this how your conference calls are going?

All of us are at home are doing video conference calls these days. 

If you are also, you might find this funny:

Will the Coronavirus pop the Higher Education bubble?

Early in our blog we often talked about a possible seismic change in higher education.  This was heavily driven by the fact that the cost of higher education has been climbing twice as fast as inflation, for decades.  This can not continue forever.  As Instapundit often points out: something that can't go on forever, won't.

In a 2009 post I started with:

"I have blogged in the past about the problem of rising cost of a college education. In a nut shell the cost of college education has climbed twice as fast as inflation for decades. It has gotten to the point that a college education is not an economic benefit for many."

Today Instapundit had a link to an article by Michael Barone titled Colleges and universities threatened by COVID-19.  The article explores some of the ramifications on colleges as students spend more and more time away from their classes.

Near the end of the article Michael Barone shares a line from Heather Mac Donald had written in City Journal:

"Students and their parents may start to ask why they should pay astronomical fees for a campus experience if they can get the same instruction over the web."

I think there is a good chance that this year will be the turning point where more and more families push for cheaper alternatives to getting higher education.