Summer is Over
Well, the summer has finally come to an end. For me, the end of summer is marked by an alarm at 515am followed by the Cooper Test, 2 miles in 12 minutes at 6am. Yes, it is preseason for the men's soccer team at Swarthmore. With 2-a-day practices, meals, and naps there is not time for much else, but I finally have a chance to reflect on my summer experience.
In California
The summer was amazing. For the first part of the summer I returned from England and started as a research assistant at Stanford. It was a time for me to experience graduate school first hand. Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Stanford. I was able to participate in experiments, run subjects through experiments I helped develop, and share interesting ideas with all the other RAs and grad students. The atmosphere was one of progress and production. There people are always thinking, driving forth with new ideas. There is also loads of pressure, but it is good pressure. It is the kind of pressure you place on yourself when you want to excel at something you love. Once I again I want to emphasize the power of the situation. Chose, drive for, apply for, and actively seek situations where you will be challenged and you will learn. There is no better place to do than than in education. Check out this article from experience.com. It outlines many ways education can help put you in a situation where you can grow and learn as you impact others. Even if you didn't graduate with an education degree, the education industry is a great place to find fresh air and fresh ideas. Experience.com: Jobs for the non-ceritified
On top of the research at Stanford, I had the opportunity to live in California with new people. I was able to explore California with them: hiking, biking, and kayaking to name a few. It was an added bonus to the internship and my time in California, and one I won't soon forget.
Christina, Shiho, and me at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
South America
After a few days driving from California to Philadelphia, I set off with my soccer team to Brasil and Argentina. Another experience to remember. From painting the day care to watching the professional matches; climbing up to Corcavado to toruing Pele's old locker room. It was an education in soccer, and South American culture. We tried yerba mate, a tea popular in Argentina and southern Brasil. We partied hard in a Sao Paolo night club. All my experience in California and especially more recently in South America has indicated to me that I have not seen or experienced enough of the world to settle down yet. I may choose to volunteer, or travel. But who knows. I have one year left at Swarthmore and a lot can change in a year.
The future
One thing I know for sure is that learning and expanding you boundaries is invaluable. Whatever you do make an conscious effort to learn something new, and connect with people. It may be hard to find in some careers, but in the education industry those two traits describe much of the careers and opportunities out there. I wish everyone luck on their paths in life and hope learning and the education industry are never too far away.
Back at Swarthmore
Schools Out
Classes have ended for me and it is finally time to start enjoying my summer, textbook-free. I took two summer classes that really tested my self discipline. It’s been a challenge to stay focused but I can honestly say that I am saddened to see one of my classes end.
Maybe you’ve never had a class like the one I’ve just finished. It’s the kind of class where the teacher is exceptional and the humor and expertise brought to the class by him rubbed off onto all of the students. We all became fast friends and took a difficult assignment from drab to extraordinary. In fact, we’ve even all formed a post-semester discussion board so that we can stay in touch. These types of relationships are long-lasting ones that will improve not only my classroom experience but my future career. I hope that everyone out there gets the chance to connect in a class like this at least once in their academic adventures.
We’ve all made a pact to stay in touch and now we are seeking a venue for our continued relationship. It seems that the easiest way to keep tabs on one other is to talk online, which led me to search for free message boards.
If you have had a class that you never want to see end, or just need to stay in touch with colleagues or classmates, you can follow our lead and check out one of these great friendship-assisting boards:
-www.proboards.com
-www.suddenlaunch.com
-www.aimoo.com
-www.boards2go.com
Also make sure you check out the Education Channel on Experience.com for great articles and advice!
To Argentina and Brazil
A day of painting
These past two weeks I had the opportunity to travel to Argentina and Brazil with my soccer team from Swarthmore College. It was a chance to experience the sport in places where it is more than a just a game, it is a way of life. On top of an education in soccer (and believe me we were definitely taught some things by the South America teams we played), the trip gave my team and I the chance to learn two different languages, and immerse ourselves in the culture of the various places we traveled.
The surrounding neighborhood around the day care.
The Day Care center "Hogar de Dia, Jesus de Belen" with our soccer team and the children.
We painted the Dare Care center, the playground equipment, and the outside fence. Half way through the production the children who attend the center arrived and scurried around as we painted. I tried to speak some Spanish, and a few of the guys who are more fluent than me were talking to the children for ages. They joked and learned about Argentina and the children learned about the US. We ate a traditional Argentinean lunch with them, chorizo sausage, black sausage, and steak all cooked on an outdoor brick grill behind the center. After that some of the guys played soccer with the children there and it was an all around wild and fun time. The kids were asking for our autographs and made us feel like celebrities. Also, a few of the guys on the team asked for one of the children's autograph. His name was Pablo and he was a sensational soccer player. Hopefully the day care can provide him with more of a chance to excel at the sport in the future.
Some of the playground.
Andrew Hoot (far right) was in charge of the detailed painting.
Jeff Kushner and Adreas Lagos using some interesting painting techniques.
The children asking sophomore Morgan Langley for his autograph.
Why you should care about that home next door in foreclosure
What’s all this housing mess really matter to you anyway? Most of the readers of this blog aren’t homeowners. They are college students or recent graduates trying to make their way in their young careers. They haven’t begun to think about having to keep up with the landscaping or replace that leaking roof. So, most aren’t that worried about the mortgage crisis. It has no effect on them, right?
Wrong.
Think about this: for every home that sits empty, abandoned by families facing foreclosure, that’s one less home that the local municipality can collect tax dollars on. For the houses that surround it, that means that their property value is in jeopardy of falling. A falling property value is reflected in falling property taxes.
As educators (or future ones) we should all be keenly aware of what that means. Stop and think about who writes your paycheck and you may be even more disturbed by the mortgage crisis than ever before. That’s right - your paycheck comes from the property taxes paid in by homeowners in your school district.
This same principle is what keeps many municipalities fighting to keep a limited number of trailer parks from entering their community. It isn’t that they don’t like the looks of them, but these virtually property-less, low-cost houses are home to hundreds of school-age children who need to be educated, but whose parents don’t pay in enough property taxes to come close to paying for their share of the educational tab.
So, questions remains about what can be done to ease the financial burden and alleviate the triple-threat that school districts are feeling these days brought on by rising gas prices, rising food costs and falling income.
I’d like to hear your ideas on the matter, since I’m a little short of answers myself. Respond to this blog posting by commenting and giving your best shot at solving this issue.
Education Policy
With the election around the corner, I thought I would post some education policies of the Presidential candidates. Follow the link for more information and platforms for other issues.
Cynthia McKinney:
- subsidized higher education for everyone
- affordable childcare and parent education programs
- enforcement of equal access including prosecution of those who do not take action to protect the rights of students of color and girl children like in the Jena 6 and Palmdale 4 cases
- support policies that decriminalize students/youth and work toward behavior change
Barack Obama:
Early Childhood Education
- Zero to Five Plan: Obama's comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, Obama's plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.
- Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
- Recruit Teachers: Obama will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
- Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
John McCain:
Excellence, Choice, and Competition
in American Education
John McCain believes American education must be worthy of the promise we make to our children and ourselves. He understands that we are a nation committed to equal opportunity, and there is no equal opportunity without equal access to excellent education.
Public education should be defined as one in which our public support for a child's education follows that child into the school the parent chooses. The school is charged with the responsibility of educating the child, and must have the resources and management authority to deliver on that responsibility. They must also report to the parents and the public on their progress.
The deplorable status of preparation for our children, particularly in comparison with the rest of the industrialized world, does not allow us the luxury of eliminating options in our educational repertoire. John McCain will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrated excellence, including their own homes.
No Child Left Behind has focused our attention on the realities of how students perform against a common standard. John McCain believes that we can no longer accept low standards for some students and high standards for others. In this age of honest reporting, we finally see what is happening to students who were previously invisible. While that is progress all its own, it compels us to seek and find solutions to the dismal facts before us.
John McCain believes our schools can and should compete to be the most innovative, flexible and student-centered - not safe havens for the uninspired and unaccountable. He believes we should let them compete for the most effective, character-building teachers, hire them, and reward them.
Source: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm
