education

Photo: ©RIA Novosti, Ruslan Krivobok.

How Far Will the US Go Before The Student Loan Debt Bubble Bursts?

October 8, 2012 Carmen Russell Politics 00:18:00 0 Comments

The student loan debt bubbling is growing exponentially in the United States and it may very well burst soon enough. More people are enrolled in two- and four-year universities than ever before and many of those are relying on Uncle Sam in order to pay for that education.

However, these students have been graduating into the worst economy since the Great Depression and without jobs, many are finding tremendous challenges in paying back those loans–loans that total more than $1 trillion, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb.com and Finaid, and Dr. Zakiya Muwwakkil, filmmaker behind “Degress of Separation,” which tells the stories of underemployed and unemployed student loan debtors, to learn more about the state of student loan debt in the United States.

A new report shows that black males still lag far behind their white male counterparts in high school graduation rates. Photo: ©RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko.

Black Males Need 50 Years to Reach Whites’ Grad Rates, Study Shows

October 2, 2012 Carmen Russell Culture 00:17:48 0 Comments

For the first time ever, in 2011, more than half of the nation’s ninth grade black males went on to finish high school with a regular diploma on time. Despite this achievement, a recent study says much more remains to be accomplished.

The Schott Foundation for Public Education published in late September a study that revealed that it would take nearly 50 years for black males to achieve the same graduation rates at white males.

“The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males” found that only 52 percent of black male and 58 percent of Latino male ninth-graders went on to graduate from high school four years later. Meanwhile, 78 percent of white male ninth-graders went on to graduate four years later.

Host Jamila Bey talked with author and columnist Amy Alexander about calls to get this topic before the Commission on Presidential Debates so that the topic can be address by President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney before Election Day.