Education

Education

S- Education Reformation/Philosophy

O- American Scholar, 1800s

A-Readers of the magazine/educators/parents

P- to persuade/to educate

S- Ralph Waldo Emerson

T- philosophical/confident/professional/ considerate

The point of this essay was to show parents and teachers that there is a better way of teaching students. The way he refers to is by patience and by the “naturel” method. This method basically states that one should let their child/student do things naturally; they should let them think and act freely as long as it does not exceed the behavioral limits that are set on them. By using this method, it is also allowing the student, as long as the rest of the class, to think with a more open mind and choose their own path in life or education. It is also teaching the parents/educators to be more patient, which can become useful to everybody.

This essay would not be effective if it were to be presented to the wrong crowd; in this case, the audience is the readers of the magazine, but it is mostly effective to educators and parents.  If educators and parents were to follow Ralph Waldo Emerson’s theories, a completely new and improved education system could be formed, which can be experimented with and eventually used. If this method were to be enforced throughout schools, it would not only make teachers more patient, but also much more understanding. One issue with the “naturel” method is the fact that students might try to take advantage of the freedom given to them, but that can be changed over time.

This essay is very effective to the audience and is able to reach its purpose of persuading and educating.

Is Blood Really the Strongest Bond to All?

'Gunman at Washington state school targeted his cousins, relative says'

By:Chelsea J. Carter, Andreas Preuss and Ben Brumfield

Source: CNN News

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/25/us/washington-school-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

     A couple of days ago, there was a terrifying shooting in a school cafeteria in Washington State. Witnesses said the teenage gunman was Jaylen Fryberg, who happens to be a cousin of two of the wounded students. Four students were left wounded and one female student was dead, along with Fryberg. The grandfather of one of the wounded, Nate Hatch, said his grandson and Fryberg were very close, nearly inseparable. “Only God knows what escalated this. Only God knows. Nobody pushed a button with bullying. It’s just something that happened, and we don’t know why”, Hatch said (1). The authorities have yet to publicly identify the shooter (not only based off witnesses) and the female student that were killed. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the police. The two girls and two boys that were wounded are now in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in hospitals in Seattle and Everett.

     Jordan Luton was finishing lunch in the cafeteria when he hears a loud bang. He saw Fryberg approach a table and fire about six bullets into the backs of them. “They were his friends, so it wasn’t just random” (1). It was very difficult for Luton to make sense of this shooting. He says the day before, Fryberg was perfectly fine at their football practice, and then the day of the shooting, he was horrible. Another witness, Rachel Heichel says she was sitting a few tables away and was alarmed when she heard gun shots and turned to find Fryberg as the shooter. “When I saw him, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Jaylen.’ I would have never expected it to be him, out of all people” she said (1). Many students were outraged that Fryberg could have done such a thing, due to his usual happy mood. The students could not confirm that he was ever bullied, but according to Luton, Fryberg had gotten into a fight two weeks prior do to a “racist comment”.

     According to this article, 2 out of 4 of the students that were wounded were related to Fryberg. I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of pain, grief, and betrayal these two boys feel. I suppose sometimes even blood is not a strong enough bond for some..

 

Education System

Education-(noun); an enlightening experience.

To me, education is not only something that can be directly taught to you. Some forms of education can be something that one can acquire over time by listening or watching and not necessarily by being taught. One example of an indirect form of education would be music. Music is not something one can learn to be good at unless they have a good ear. If one does have a good ear, they can teach themselves by listening or watching.

School is not the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word “education”, but it is very essential in the distribution of education. Although, one who has not gone to school and or received an education is not considered stupid or unknowledgeable. William Shakespeare, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Mozart; these are all men who had no formal education but are still declared geniuses.

To answer the question “To what extent do our schools serve the goal of a true education”, one must think of their own definition of education first. Do schools really provide us with a true education? The education we are taught at schools only scratch the surface of the subjects we are taught. Another point that should be considered is the “dumbest generation” theory; if education is really only based off knowledge, then the schools nowadays are not doing a very good job at teaching true education.  One commonly-stated purpose of education is to prepare students for the “real world” or for the hardships of life, but the things we are taught in school do not prepare us for the real world.

So to answer the question above, I do not think schools serve the goal of a true education.

Some Wounds Will Never Heal...

'Human remains found in search for UVA student Hannah Graham'

By: Greg Botelho

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/18/us/hannah-graham-disappearance/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

 

About a week or two ago, the parents of 18-year-old Hannah Graham released a video on the news begging the people of Charlottesville, Virginia to help them look for their missing daughter. Hannah was last seen early the morning of September 13 near the University of Virginia. After about 5 weeks (35 days) of nonstop searches, they found human body remains on an abandoned property eight miles away from the university. The police found a video of her leaving the Tempo Bar around 2 AM the night she was last seen, alongside a 32 year old man named Jesse Matthew. On September 24, Matthew was found in Galveston, Texas, on a beach, and was charged with abduction with the intent to defile.

Jesse Matthew was also linked by forensic evidence to the case of Morgan Harrington in 2009, who was last seen hitchhiking outside of Charlottesville in October, then later found dead on a nearby farm the following January. Matthew was not arrested for the Harrington case, as her cause of death is still under investigation.

The disappearance of Hannah Graham caused more than 1,200 volunteers to go searching for her. Since they are not yet 100% sure that the human remains belong to her, they are not jumping to any conclusions yet. But the missing case is now considered a “death investigation”. Later in the day, the Facebook page dedicated to her, “Help Find Hannah Graham”, was full of heart wrenching and broken reactions from family, friends, and strangers alike.

I chose to write about this article because losing a child is the hardest thing for parents; whether it is a missing child or a dead one. Although her death might come as closure to the family and end the torture of not knowing, it is the worst kind of news one can get; even to someone like me who is getting emotional although I never knew Hannah Graham. This is a pain that causes such a wound that can never be healed and I would never wish it upon anybody.

Community Service: Voluntary or Forced?

Community service (noun) -

 voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area.

Does this definition apply to the way community service is used today? Community service should no longer be considered voluntary, due to the fact that it is now mandatory for all high school students. For example, Pilibos requires 100 out-of-school hours and 20 in-school hours; one cannot graduate without completing 120 hours at the least. Even 120 hours is considered “too little” to most colleges.  "Many young people said that their motive in becoming involved was to make a stronger case to please college admissions officers--regardless of whether they were applying to an Ivy League school, a state university or technical college"(Chaptman,1). If community service was not something that was so forced, it would have more meaning to people today. Community service that is completed while still in high school is meaningless and is mostly done because it needs to be done. "Their attachments are more fleeting and there is a lack of attachments that seem to pervade", says Lewis Friedland, a professor of journalism and mass communication, while speaking of the topic of today's generation. 

Although enforcing community service does show the importance of it to people at a young age and still does its job in helping the community, the fact that it is mandatory makes it lose some of its value. Once something has lost value, it is hard for it to gain it back. Nowadays, people do not look at community service as a way to help others and be a good person voluntarily; they look at it as something that is obligated by their schools and could potentially affect their future or future college/university. And that is the sad truth about our generation.

Are Forced Apologies Equivalent to Real Ones?

'Vice President Joe Biden apologizes to Turkey, UAE'
By Chelsea J. Carter, Ben Brumfield and Sara Mazloumsaki
Source: CNN

Last week, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made comments that Middle Eastern allies (referring to Turkey) are partly to blame for the growing power of ISIS. He stated that the terrorist group had been getting stronger due to actions allies took to help the opposition groups that were fighting in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad. He said that they wasted millions of dollars and thousands of weapons to anyone who would fight against al-Assad. This would not be such a big issue if it was not for the fact that the people being supplied with these lethal weapons were extremist Muslims. “President Erdogan told me, he’s an old friend, said ‘You were right. We let too many people (including foreign fighters) through’. Now they are trying to seal their border”(1), Biden said, according to transcripts. After hearing about all of this, Erdogan repeatedly denied that he ever said such a thing. According to reporters in Istanbul, Erdogan said Biden will become history to him unless an apology was involved. Turkey was not the only one who was offended by these comments; the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry was also stunned that Biden would make such a remark. “They were far from the truth, especially with the relation to the UAE’s role in confronting extremism and terrorism and its clear and advanced position in recognizing the dangers, including the danger of financing terrorist and terrorist groups”(1), said Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. After hearing the results of his opinionated comments, Biden had no choice but to apologize in order to keep the alliances with Turkey. In his apology, Biden made it clear that the commitments and sacrifices made by our allies are greatly appreciated. Biden and Erdogan had a telephone conversation, in which they both reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to fight the terror group. The Syrian president accused Turkey of looking the other way and providing support to some rebels that were involved in the civil war. In turn, Turkey has accused Syria of instigating the unrest that has led to ISIS taking hold in the region.

Due to the issues between Armenians and Turks, I tried very hard in order to write this summary in a non-biased way. Though, in my opinion, Biden should be able to make whatever comments he wants and not be penalized for it. After all, it is only an opinionated comment; he did not state it as a fact.  Also, I do not agree with the fact that Erdogan knows how much the U.S. relies on Turkey, yet he takes advantage of the fact and holds it against us in times like this, where due to a few blunt comments, Biden was treated like a child while being forced to apologize and threatened to cut connections with.