Too true...

One of my J-School friends found this article in the Winston-Salem Journal (my previous hometown) on unpaid internships, "Having interns work without pay is a shameful business practice." It resonated with me immediately. The first internship I had to turn down was a marketing internship for my hometown symphony, the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, because it was an unpaid internship, and I had to earn money to help pay my way through college. This author is exactly right--students who are not wealthy are at a disadvantage because they cannot afford to take unpaid internships. Instead, I took an internship at Oldsmobile, where I learned about Human Resources, Finance, and Purchasing. It paid the college bills and I learned a lot, but I gave up that opportunity to learn about nonprofit marketing--mixing my two passions of music and business. I ended up learning about nonprofit marketing at a later age--when I could afford to volunteer my time. I even ended up teaching nonprofit marketing at Wake Forest University, but I never forgot having to give up that opportunity--just because I could not afford to take it.

Summer School is over for me...

I just finished my final exam for stats. What a relief that is to have it over. I'll turn it in tomorrow and be done with summer school. I have decided not to take stats II this summer. There are times when teaching and learning styles do not mesh, and this is one of them. It has made me think a lot about what I can do as a teacher to contribute to my student's learning. I'll write more about that later.

I won't be done with work for the summer, however. I'm starting one new research project and have another to finish up before a presentation at the Academy of Management in Hawaii in August. Oh, yes, we are also moving to a new home in the middle of all of this, so I will be packing boxes each, as well.

Do teachers ignore less attractive students?

A May 3rd article in the NY Times described a Canadian research study that found that parents took better care of their pretty children than they did of their ugly children. This was totally appalling to me, but made me actually think about from the perspective of teachers, as well, and whether they take better care of their attractive students. In my somewhat advanced age, I am not a "cute young thing" so I have noticed that those who are use it to their advantage and the teachers play right along, thus setting the stage for another study: Do teachers pay more attention to their attractive students? I hope I have not done this. I know I will pay more attention to my own actions as a teacher and make sure to give all students equal attention.

One frustrating part about traveling is the TSA...

There is an article today in the New York Times questioning the tactics of the Transporation Security Administration, and I must agree. On my way back from Tampa, it appeared that they were very organized, with several lanes for getting passengers through a check-point area. In fact, there were many lanes for putting our luggage through the scanner, but only one walk-through area, creating a bottle-neck for walking through. Even with my limited memory of ops from B-School, I could tell that the system was not working right. By the time I took out my laptop and took off my shoes, I was last in line, anxiously watching my things waiting alone for me at the other end of the scanning equipment. When I finally walked through, I asked the agents if they thought about what might happen to my valuable belongings that were sitting there unattended--including my laptop. They just shrugged and walked off--it was time for their break. It turns out I am not alone in my frustration. I found out from friends who were also traveling that day that when they were going through security with their 18 month old, the agents made them send the 18 month old through first, but then would not let them chase their son as he ran away from the security area: leaving unattended the most precious belonging of all.

My first paper presentation...

I presented my first solo paper as a doctoral student last week in Tampa at the Academy of Marketing Sciences conference. I have to say that the doctoral breakfast was a highlight of the conference. There were many senior marketing faculty there that were ready and willing to lend support and advice, which was so encouraging. My paper presentation Friday morning started out to a small group of the three of us presenting (since it was an 8:30 a.m. session), but concluded with a nice size group that had wandered in. I'm grateful to those professors who attended and provided me with feedback on my paper.