Franklin Schargel’s Blog

I have returned from a trip to Texas, where the Governor of the state (who might run for president) has just slashed educational spending. This has resulted in the laying off of thousands of educators.  But it is not just happening in Texas.  All across the country, education and educators are under assault.  From New York State, through Wisconsin to California, substantial cuts are being made in education without regard to parents, students, and educators.  Whatever happened to the cries for a globally competitive school system?  Where are the teacher unions, The AFT and NEA?  Where is the business community?  Where are the voices of sanity?

I believe, and pray that I am wrong, that with the reduction of adults in schools and the consolidation of classrooms and schools, we will face increased school violence.  At that time, we will hear from the media, the business community, the teacher unions, and the politicians who will say, “how did this happen?”

My latest Huffington Post blog has been posted. It is entitled, “America’s Next Educational Crisis” but can also apply in foreign nations as well.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/franklin-schargel/americas-next-educational_b_883381.html

It’s also permanently listed in your author archive:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/franklin-schargel/

SREB has changed the time and date of my speaking.  Please take note.

Franklin has been selected to make two presentations at the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) High Schools That Work Conference to be held in Nashville, TN.  On Thursday, July 21 at 9:30AM, Franklin will be presenting a workshop entitled “It’s Time to End the Plague of School Dropouts” in the Presidential Ballroom A.

On Thursday, July 21 at 2:15 PM, Franklin will be presenting a workshop entitled “School Leadership and School Cultures That Build Graduation Rates” in the Presidential Ballroom A.

The conference will be held at the Opryland Hotel.  Stop by and enjoy the workshops and say hello.

The following statistics about book publishing and reading were found on www.parapub.com, this is the Web site of self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. They’ll give you an idea of what you’re up against if you are trying to encourage students to read.

• 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
• 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
• 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
• 70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
• 70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
  (Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

• 53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspense, at 19 percent.
• 55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.
  (Source: Publishers Weekly)

• About 120,000 books are published each year in the U.S.
  (Source: www.bookwire.com)

• A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
• A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.
  (Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

• On average, a bookstore browser spends 8 seconds looking at a book’s front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover.
  (Source: Para Publishing, www.parapub.com)

• Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
  (Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

According to Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, the ten majors with the lowest median earnings per year are:

Ten majors with the lowest median earnings per year:

Counseling/psychology: $29,000

Early childhood education: $36,000

Theology and religious vocations: $38,000

Human services and community organizations: $38,000

Social work: $39,000

Drama and theater arts: $40,000

Studio arts: $40,000

Communication disorders sciences and services: $40,000

Visual and performing arts: $40,000

Health and Medical preparatory programs: $40,000

Your students may want to know.

According to Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, the ten majors with the highest median earnings per year are:

Petroleum engineering: $120,000

Pharmacy sciences and administration: $105,000

Mathematics and computer science: $98,000

Aerospace engineering: $87,000

Chemical engineering: $86,000

Electrical engineering: $85,000

Naval architecture and marine engineering: $82,000

Mechanical engineering: $80,000

Metallurgical engineering: $80,000

Mining and mineral engineering: $80,000

A survey by the National Cyber Security Alliance, financed by Microsoft indicates that teachers are not prepared to educate students on the basics of online security and safety.  The survey of 1.012 teachers, 402 principals and superintendents and 200 school tech specialists found that 81% of school administrators feel that they are doing a good job teaching children about online safety.  But 36% of teachers say they do not receive any training on the issue & 40% say they received one to three hours of training.  Seventy-nine percent of teachers indicate that it is the parents who should be primarily responsible for teaching their children about cyber-security.

With cyber-bullying receiving national attention, the issue of cyber-security needs to have proponents.  But as long as school administrators, teachers and parents have a different view on responsibility, then the issue falls into the hole of cyber space.