eNews from USC Rossier

August 10, 2011

Dean Joins Elite Panel on Finnish & American Education

Dean Karen Symms Gallagher was an invited participant in the "Brave Questions" Education Seminar at FinnFest 2011 in San Diego on Tuesday, Aug. 9.

The seminar was the first ever Finnish-American public education event organized in conjunction with FinnFest, a celebration of the country. The event brought together teachers, administrators, parents, and others involved in and affected by public education.

Themes focused on "Brave Questions" including successful practices, teacher education, early childhood education, bullying, school violence, special education, and foreign language instruction. Finland remains at the top of international student achievement scores, and Dean Gallagher visited the country last year with a cohort of education leaders to observe educational practices.

More about Education Seminar at FinnFest 2011.

Rossier 2011 Fall Kickoff for Faculty and Staff

On Tuesday, August 16, Rossier will host its 2011 Fall Kickoff at the downtown USC City Center (AT&T Building), with "The Gen Y Guy" Jason Ryan Dorsey (left) headlining the half-day event.

Jason is the thought leader on generational dynamics in education. In fact, he coined the term "Generational Kinetics" to name the predictive cross-generational behaviors he discovered through his research.

A passionate advocate for education, Jason has worked on-site at over 700 schools and colleges across the U.S. and as far away as India. A bestselling author at age 18, he followed his first book with four more including 50 Ways to Improve Schools for Under $50 and Y-Size Your Business.

More about Jason Ryan Dorsey.

APRISE Students Blog About Their Experiences

Ed.D. candidates are currently traveling in Delhi, India, and Santiago, Chile, for APRISE study tours, and several participants are blogging about their experiences on the new APRISE website.

Above: APRISE participants Anil Muhammed, David Truby, Chandinie Francis, Aba Cassell, Juan C. Herrera in Santiago.

Read their posts.

Slayton's Comments on Easy Tenure for Teachers Cited

National Review cited Dr. Julie Slayton regarding the Los Angeles Unified School District routinely granting tenure to new teachers after cursory reviews.

The article noted that the Los Angeles Times exposed how the city's tenure-evaluation system rubber-stamped approvals and ignored actual performance, to which Slayton had acknowledged: "It's ridiculous and should be changed."