In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicole Barbaro about higher education. They discuss Nicole's work in higher education and the importance of mentorship for professional development. They provide a definition of education and its boundaries. They also talk about the role of the federal government (Department of Education in the USA) in overseeing and regulating education. They mention merit vs. meritocracy along with the role of standardized tests and entrance exams. They talk about the challenges of scale for a large country's education system and a public option for education. They spend some time discussing the importance of good, quality teaching in higher education. They mention the variables of synchronous and asynchronous learning/teaching. They talk about the process of formal training and education and why information gathering alone is half of the process. They discuss the alternatives of improving teaching in the classroom, DIY and "education influencers," woke activism, Critical Race Theory (CRT) curriculums, and homeschooling. They also talk about options for improving the future of education and many other topics. 

Nicole Barbaro holds a PhD in psychology with an emphasis on evolution and human development. She is currently a research scientist at WGU labs and continues to publish in academia on attachment. You can find all of her publications at her website. Subscribe to her substack to have weekly content on current trends within higher education. Twitter: @Nicolebarbaro 

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