East Villagers Non-Profit Community News » Education

America Education Cons

Sharon Li — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:10:46 +0000

Although America’s education allows any children opportunities that other kid’s from other countries are not able to have, it also is actually very behind other countries.
I was shocked when I read an article how “15-year-olds in the U.S. placed 25th out of 30 countries in math performance and 21st in science performance.” America gives kid’s a lose grip on what they want to be, this country has many opportunities with children who want to be more creative when they grow up as well. I think this is great, and it’s a large contributor to the fact that many people move here from oversees to give their kid’s a wider variety of choices. Unfortunately, we are also far behind other countries academic skills.
I suppose it all depends on what and who is being compared to places. It’s proven that by the end of 8th grade, students are two years behind in math studied by other students in other countries. And over 50% of students cannot read at their grade level and most likely, never will be able to catch up. Although, others believe that we are better-rounded than other countries that offer academics and basically nothing else, he still are beginning to drag behind as well.
Not only this, but because of the recent budget cuts, students find themselves with less opportunities to choose from as well. Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that the graduation rates of students have declined, not too noticeable for others, but around .9 percent. Because not every job available has a good strong education required, many people drop out, believing that they can still get whatever career that they choose.
A documentation called “Two Million Minutes” is about two students from three countries, China, India, and America. One of the Indian students comments how American’s education “seems like a dream”. The movie has the top students describe what their life is like and is compared to the other students from other countries. It was astounding how hard and dedicated the kids from China and China seemed to be, and although I had originally thought the American students worked diligently (not that they don’t) it seemed as though all the other students did was study.
Nowadays, people describe that America’s education lacks the strength and drive of other students oversees, and are not globally “aware” of the standings of countries around the world.

http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/the-stats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFmWlyBcrs

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American Education Pro

Sharon Li — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:54:09 +0000

America’s education is something many people take for granted. Growing up in the United States made me believe that everyone had the same opportunities as I did. As I wrote in some of my blogs from before, China’s education excludes many activities that involve the child’s creativity side to come out. Also in many parts of the world, it’s difficult to even get a good public education at all.
When I visited my friend from New York, I was surprised to discover that almost everyone went to private school, whether they could afford it or not. While I was walking around the city I saw run down beat up public schools that I, frankly, was afraid to go in. Because New York City and other cities in the state are some of the busiest, most crowded places in the United States; it’s difficult to find a well-run public school.
Although we do have some kinks that we have to work out, America’s educational system is something, I believe, has improved a lot over the years and is still on its way to getting better. Children here have such a wide variety of places to go from, there are schools within walking distance or biking distance, or if not, the ability to take the bus for free, then things like free and reduced lunch for kids who sometimes cannot afford it.
I was looking at a world map the other day, of the percentage people that are literate around the globe. America, Canada, Argentina, 4/5ths of Asia, Europe, and Australia are all pretty much one hundred percent literate. But as for Africa, a large portion of it remains for most people being illiterate. Other countries in South America, and the ones unlisted follow somewhere between 60% to 95% literate.
America is really working hard on having a higher percentage of graduating students and lower of student drop outs as well.

http://broadeducation.org/about/crisis_stats.html

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Voo-Doo, Herbs and Science: a merging of minds?

Onome Uwhuba — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:34:21 +0000

A long time ago, when I still entertained dreams of being a chemist—before my meeting with organic chemistry killed all such hope—I had always wondered about African traditional medicines. My rationale was that as a human race, we have survived millennia without the use of “scientific” medicine. The fact that “science” as we know it now only exists because no one has yet to disprove it, further made me more interested in understanding the medications and treatments of generations past. As the daughter of a Nigerian nurse, my experiences with herbal medicine were very very rare, and usually fell to things like drinking really spicy soup to cure a cold. But I was also aware of herbal medicines, and “witch doctors” with their cures. I was never ready to try and of their so called cures, but I was very curious to see if they worked. My previous article discussed the burden that pharmaceuticals place on a country due to their high cost, and I have always wondered if it isn’t best if we just used the tools we already have to make the things we need.

I faced this same issue this summer in Australia. The Indigenous Australians who inhabited their continent for 40,000 years before the present, had the most amazing and ingenious uses for their flora, fauna and landscape. I spent some time there talking to medical professionals about Aboriginal healthcare, especially due to the 17 year life-expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. One of the reasons for this gap is a lesser use of medical facilities by the indigenous community, whether due to lack of access or due to lack of want. One of the reasons for lack of want, was the incredible fount of medical knowledge held within these communities and tribes. But I still wanted to ask the big question, which was: Does it work? And from my conversations, with medical professionals, they agree that the herbal remedies worked, but there was a big caveat. They worked on illnesses present before the colonization of their continent. They would work on an injury, childbirth or sore muscles but not on diabetes, or heart problems.

A recent article on herbal medicines talks about the two sides: it works, but only for things that could possibly have been around when it was developed. The article discusses the increased export of herbal medicines from India and China, and the continued critique of claims due to lack of scientific proof. While I believe that the best scientific proof is one that can stand the test of millennia, one is hard pressed to decide who to believe. One main point in the article about African traditional medicines is that they were previously made for small communities with one-on-one consultations. Many of these medicine-men have passed away and taken their knowledge with them, both in Africa and Australia. Furthermore, the methods, cleanliness and ethics of the mass-produced “miracle herbs” leaves a lot to be desired—the fact is you are never really sure if you are taking the amazing herb from 2,000 years ago or ground spinach sprinkled with an ‘exotic’ flavor.

So do I believe in herbal medicines? Absolutely. Would I take any herbal medicine? Very unlikely. Why? Because I need to see the proof. I cannot believe a salesman or a company that has not yet been certified or proven. But if the proof is there, sign me up! The best medicine is one you can grow in your kitchen for little to no money and trust to cure you with little (or a lot of) fuss. So for those miracle herbs from “ancient civilizations” that help cure every disease (with side effects that include ‘possible death’), I would advise you to avoid them. But I remain strongly interested in gathering knowledge from the true (though how one would determine this remains a challenge) medicine-men, and then using modern science to test these claims.

Afternote: while a more apt title would be “Juju, herbs and science”, assuming my audience to be American, one would expect that they equate the mystical VooDoo, with the West African “ju-ju” medicine. As for what you would call Aboriginal herbal medicine, I am at a loss.

References:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107201055.html

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Seeking Opportunity

Joy Liu — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:13:42 +0000

Seeking Opportunity

As another school year begins and I witness a new cohort of peers enter college, I’m constantly thinking about the steps these students took to achieve their goal. What I’ve noticed is that the students who are successful look beyond the daily schedule of classes for additional opportunities. There are many programs that recognize students, ranging from middle school and high school to college and post-graduates, and provide them with opportunities to further expand their knowledge. Motivated students seek out and take the time to apply to programs. For students who are interested in issues of social justice, I have listed some opportunities that may be of interest as well as a brief description as outlined by the programs/scholarships. Please use this as a starting point.

High School Students:

1. Bank of America Student Leaders (http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation/index.cfm?template=fd_studentleaders)

College Students:

1. State Farm Youth Advisory Board (www.statefarmyab.com/)

2. US Virtual Student Foreign Service (http://www.state.gov/vsfs/)

3. Go! Volunteer Abroad (http://www.go-volunteerabroad.com/)

4. Google BOLD (http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/bold/)

5. Young People For (http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/)

6. Clinton Global Initiative University (http://www.cgiu.org/)

Search Engines:

1. Fastweb (http://www.fastweb.com/)

2. Zinch (http://www.zinch.com/)

Please feel free to add to this list with other opportunities that you know of. Always check with your school to see if they offer any special programs or have a catalogue of scholarships or opportunities. It takes time and effort, but it will definitely pay off!

Joy Liu

Team 2 – Servant Scholars

Durham, NC

Sophomore – Duke University

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Gao Kao

Sharon Li — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:30:54 +0000

Children who grow up in China have life pretty tough. They have to grow up around this lifestyle and hopefully get accustomed to it.
Last year, I visited my step-cousin, who was getting ready to apply for college, we were at my grandmother’s house in Yangzhou and I only met her for a couple of minutes…she didn’t even stay for dinner, but whisked away to go study. I was surprised, seeing that it was the middle of summer and school hadn’t even started so there was nothing to study for. Not only that, but when we invited her to go to Beijing with us, she declined to study some more. At first, I believed that she just didn’t want to go with us, which I understood, but then her father said how she had a huge test coming up in June. Now I was even more confused, seeing that it was July, and there was another year until June came by.
My cousins came over this summer from China for a month or so. They’re twins and smarter than me in almost every category except English and U.S. History, obviously. They’re only in middle school, yet their school days are two to three hours longer than mine, and they have a tower of homework always following them.
Only until I really thought about it, did I realize how harsh the academics in China are. The twins have to take the “chu kao” which is a test that sees if they are fit to continue to junior high, and which school they can go to. Although this test is taken at a young age it is still important. Next is the “zhong kao” and as a junior in high school they take this exam to see if they can become a senior in high school, this is similar to chu kao, and although both are harsh, the zhong kao is worse. Lastly is “gao kao” which is the most important test that a child in China will ever take in their whole life. This test is solely the reason they can go to college. If they get in the top highest marks, they will go to college, if they do not, then they don’t. This test comes around once a year and kids are pushed farther than their limits, studying fourteen to fifteen hours a day. Of course, someone can take the test next year as well, but it’s mostly just a one-time shot…because colleges usually do not accept people who had to take it twice. Parent’s work their child so hard that it’s normal to pass out or have to go to the hospital. Many people compare this test to the SAT or ACT but don’t realize how much worse and vigorous the gao kao is.
So the day of the test, kids don’t even sleep, usually, eat as they study, and continue to study until the last second. Even if someone is just one minute late, they are not allowed to take the test, ruining their chances to go to college forever. One women got down on her knees and begged the test master to let her child take the test after her child was four minutes late, but was still not allowed to.
I can’t put in words to how harsh their conditions are…

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/07/25/2287820.htm

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Service Rates

Sharon Li — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:03:06 +0000

What are the statistics on community service in America? I understand that it is required to graduate from high school and a certain amount of hours for college but how many people are doing it for their education…or because they choose to out of their own free will. I sometimes wonder how much community service would be done if it was not a requirement…would the numbers change?
As of September 2010 twenty six point three percent of America’s population participates in community service. Over the years, the number of men active in service is growing a little bit high, just by a hundredth of one each year or so. The amount of women active is slightly more than men which is at twenty nine point three percent, but unlike the men, the percentage of women is slightly decreasing, still only by a couple .01’s. Unfortunately that .01 percent is actually very large when it is put to perspective, around three million people is every .01 percentile.
Anyways…surprisingly, the age group that is most active in community service is those from the ages thirty five to forty four, second is forty five to fifty four and least is sixteen to twenty four. To me, I found these numbers a little bit shocking, because I suspected that there would be the most service done at the younger age and less as time progresses. It not only was a shock, but also a bit of a disappointment, because I thought that because service was required, then there would be more done. Also I hoped that because they were involved in service they would learn how great it was and begin to participate even more than before. Thankfully all the numbers are off just by a percent or two, but that is still a lot…around thirty million people.
As for the adults of ages twenty five or older, thirty three point two percent of part time employed men and women are active in service, which is the largest number. Now the confusing part is that those who are unemployed do the least community service, with twenty three percent, much less than the rest of the adults; even those who work full time are at twenty eight percent. Although I’m sure that those who are unemployed are most likely finding jobs it’s strange to believe that people with full time jobs have more time to participate in service than those who don’t have jobs at all, but also there is the factor of children so it’s very hard to have an opinion in this situation.
Overall, service rates are taking a dip. And it seems seven years ago, there were much more volunteers than today. Hopefully, as the years progress, that will change.

http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

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Benefits of Learning Service

Sharon Li — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:33:59 +0000

As I said in my earlier blog community service is a service or activity that is done by a group of people or individual of people for the benefit of the public. Service learning is a teaching strategy that helps students incorporates service learning within their education that enriches that learning experience of the child. Both obviously are doing good to society and although one is helping the present of America, the latter is benefiting the future of America by teaching children how to do community service, not just as a requirement to go to college or graduate from high school, but to help America or the rest of our world as their own desire.
Although many people cannot see it, there are benefits to teaching service to other people as well as conducting community service.
Ever since I got involved with service I realized that my own work for others might have benefitted me more than I thought. Besides a sense of happiness I was also able to realize how alike that everyone is besides the differences. Community service lets people see hope instead of seeing despair in the eyes of the enemy.
But not just psychosocial things, but service is proven to have many positive effects on a student’s learning. The academic achievements were significantly higher on those who were involved in service versus those who were not. It opens the minds to people once they realize that their education can help other people, and wasting away their time by sitting around and not doing homework or something productive is just not worth it.
This increases the thought quality of education, and how they view the world, also empowers students to become much more than they are and what they can be. Service teaches valuable lessons like how to be a good leader or friend or even just another citizen and be one responsibly. It also strengthens relationships and builds connection with whoever you’re working with, working for, or helping.
Although community service is important, so is teaching service to others, which is service learning. If it is to fellow peers or even people older than you, it is showing a positive projection of what can be and will be. Then, teaching service to youth younger than yourself gives a good influence and helps the future by assisting kids in learning service.

http://servicelearning.cas.psu.edu/

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Some Background Information About Service Learning.

Sharon Li — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:30:02 +0000

Some Background Information About Service Learning.
Service learning is a huge part of America; and although it is required in colleges, many people still do it out of their own time to make our country a better place.
Community service is a service or activity that is done by a group of people or individual of people for the benefit of the public. So obviously, most people know what that is, but what is service learning? This is a little bit different but is still done to benefit the public; it is a teaching strategy that helps students incorporates service learning within their education that enriches that learning experience of the child.
Already, 24% of America’s elementary schools have started some sort of service learning program. Also, 35 states have already adopted a service learning policy, that could be either mandatory or by choice.
A popular service learning program is “Learn and Serve” which already has over one million program participants and one hundred two thousand and seven hundred volunteers recruited. There are already over one thousand five hundred Learn and Serve programs all over the United States and receive an annual funding of thirty seven point five million dollars. This program supplies grants to state education agencies, schools, non-profit organizations, and intuitions of higher education to involve youth in community service that also links with academics.
Across the country, the amount of students in service learning has increased over seven hundred thousand in just six years and all fifty states have at least one service learning program. Also, from 1984 to 1997 the percentage of high school students involved in community service went from two percent to twenty five percent, jumping to ten times its original number. Not only this but over eighty percent of the schools that offer service learning also offer some support for teachers that would like to add service into the curriculum.

http://www.servicelearning.org/what-is-service-learning

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

http://servicelearning.cas.psu.edu/

http://www.google.com/search

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Cons of Dress Code

Sharon Li — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:45:56 +0000

In my earlier blog I described how I went to a summer school this year. Because I do not have a never ending pile I clothes, I realized that dress code can actually be a good thing without all the stress and worrying about what to wear. But also, it was nice being able to wear what I chose to and being able to throw on a pair of sweats and wear flip flops if all the rest of my clothes were in the wash.
So although I am not opposed to m y school’s dress code, I also can see why other students would be against a uniform.
How someone dresses expresses their individuality and style. If everyone dressed and looked exactly the same, no one could be unique and everyone would be the same. Many express that they are trying to be themselves with what they wear, because what they wear is who they are.
Not only this but school uniforms can still be expensive as well as cheaper. With a dress code or uniform, the parents have to buy their child casual clothing, such as jeans and t-shirts, summer clothes, like shorts, and tanks or swim suits, winter clothes, winter dress code clothes, normal dress code clothes, and etc. People find school uniforms as just another thing to add on to their ever decreasing budget, especially because with no dress code, kids can wear whatever they want without having to worry about buying new things.
Also most kids oppose to having a dress code, and much of the time, there is lots of violence that associates with having to wear something that’s all the same. When the school board forces kids to wear what they don’t want to it often leads to violence or disobedience among the student body.
In my school, people still by the polo’s or khakis from different stores, so it’s obvious who’s in the “in crowd” and who isn’t. Sometimes, it wouldn’t even make a difference if there was a dress code or not, because the social crowds and cliques are still very obvious by whom hangs out with who and which clothes are bought where.
So although school dress code can be a bad thing, it’s also a good way to express yourself.

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1SNNT_enUS433US433&q=dress+code&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=784&bih=1071

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Why Dress Code is Good

Sharon Li — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:44:48 +0000

Most schools have at least some form of a dress code, although some places enforce it less than others. My school is the usual standard dress code, which is any normal colored khakis, a tucked in solid color polo shirt, belts, any shoe with a heel in the back, solid colored jackets or sweaters, and logos that were smaller than a quarter. Recently we had a dress code change, and now we don’t need belts, are allowed to wear jeans, and don’t have to tuck in our shirts. I was fine with the dress code both ways, but I am glad that it was a little more relaxed.
Over the summer I went to a summer school, not because I had low grades, but so I could take higher level courses in high school. There was absolutely no dress code there and at first I was really glad. But by the week was over, I was stressing out with nothing to wear. It made me realize that no dress code wasn’t as great as I thought. Not only this, but there would be girls with short-shorts and tank tops, then guys with jeans so low I had no idea how they kept them up. The stress of having to choose what to wear is much greater when everyone can wear whatever they choose to. Although at my school it’s not everyone wears the exact same thing, so we can buy clothes at different stores, but it’s nice to be able to wake up and know that I won’t have to dig through a mound of clothes.
But for a wider range of people, dress code promotes how you act. If you dress professionally then others take you as professional and from what they expect is how you will act. One is more likely to get a job when they are wearing a suit then a wrinkly t-shirt and ripped jeans. This follows along with the fact that a child would take school more seriously if they discover there is a dress code, because if they must dress a certain way then obviously what they are learning is important. Distractions is also a problem, when someone is wearing flashing colors or strange clothes, they often distract children from working or studying. Not only this, but in high school there is a large amount of gangs and when someone cannot wear something to affiliate themselves with a certain gang or something that is offensive then less violence could be started.
But it’s not all about behavior; the fact that some places can sell school uniforms for less money is a big factor. Also, they don’t have to buy their child as many clothes because not many people would notice if someone wore the same uniform two or three times a week.
Dress code can have many pros from discipline to distractions, and I’m glad that my school has one.

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1SNNT_enUS433US433&q=dress+code&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=784&bih=1071

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