Higher Education's Pitfalls

Its 5:30 in the morning, the sun is not quite out yet but little Joab Onyando is already up and about getting ready for school. He is finally starting first grade—at the age of 10. He skips happily out the door of his house, a shack on a hill outside of Nairobi, Kenya, in a large camp called Kibera. There are about one million people living in the square mile that composes Joab’s camp. Joab’s bubbling excitement is apparent in the newfound sprint in his walk and the enormous smile on his tiny face. He is oblivious to the many potholes that scar the dirt roads of his run-down town as he expertly navigates himself to school. All he can think about is that now his dream will become a reality, he will become a pilot and go all over the world.

Wide Angle first met Joab in 2003. Kenya’s new government had just abolished primary school fees after 40 years. Kenya was now offering every child in the country a free primary education. More than 1.2 million children who had not been in school poured into Kenya’s empty classrooms. Joab was one of those 1.2 million children that finally had the opportunity to visit the inside of a classroom—even if it meant being part of a group of 74 students and solely one teacher, as was Joab’s case. But even under those conditions there still seemed to be hope for Joab’s future.

Several months later Wide Angle revisited Joab and his family. The Wide Angle team was shocked to discover that Joab’s mother had become ill and died prematurely at the age of 28. The pressures of being motherless fell too heavily on the ten year-olds shoulders. He finally gave in and dropped out of school three months after his mother’s death. To make matters worse Joab’s father remarried and moved in with his new wife leaving Joab and his siblings to fend for themselves. Now virtually an orphan, Joab was relegated to roam the streets—that is, until his teachers came looking for him. Joab is one more boy his teachers have had to rescue from the streets and brought back to school.

The Wide Angle team returned a year later to visit Joab and was happy to find that he was still in school. Although Joab’s future may seem secure for now, what will happen if and when Joab finishes primary school? Motherless and fatherless there is no one left to sponsor his education past primary school. Like many of Africa’s children their education is stumped prematurely. Statistics show that less than half of African children reach secondary school after completing primary school. Almost none, 6% of males and 4% of females, have the opportunity to reach tertiary education. So what is causing this trend, what can cause school enrollment to drop so drastically from 99% gross at the primary level to a meager 6% gross at the tertiary level? Joab’s story gave us an inside view of what is causing this vicious cycle. Many African countries such as Kenya now provide free-primary education but not any further. If a parent wants their child to continue their education they have to find the means to pay school fees. Parents are forced to choose between feeding and educating their children. The question now is: if African children are no longer in school where are they?

Many children, such as Joab, who find themselves without parental support, virtually orphaned, are forced to support themselves by living on the streets. Joab was lucky enough to have been saved once by his teachers but, the majority of children are not so lucky. Even children that have one or both of their parents are often forced to leave school to work and provide extra income for their families. By the time they are 18 and 19 years of age African children have long ago abandoned school and have been exposed to the workforce for several years. Worse yet, the same children that once abandoned school to help support their families are facing a new reality when they grow up and become young adults. The odd jobs they were able to scrape up as kids, to provide some small amount of support for their parents, is not sufficient income to become independent and form a family of their own. The only jobs that are available to them are non-specialized low paying jobs. The situation would not be so terrible if there were enough jobs for these African youth—they would at least have some source of income.

Statistics show that young adults make up 36.9% of the working age population in Africa, but 59.5% of the total unemployed. Without proper education most young adults are employed in agriculture, 65%. In rural Ethiopia most young adults work an average of 43 hours a week in agriculture. Without hope of learning another specialized skill most youth live their entire lives in the same location with the same job (Youth and Employment in Africa). However African youth are not a homogenous group. An interesting fact the World Bank discovered was that youth unemployment was more prevalent in urban areas, those with higher education attainment, and those in wealthy households. The reason for this is very simple. Young adults that have more opportunities and options in life will wait longer to prepare themselves before entering the workforce (Youth and Employment in Africa). Higher education is key for the success of African youth. Without higher education there is no way possible that they will be able to compete at the global level.

Presently,Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest tertiary enrollment ratio in the world. The terribly slow enrollment rate growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has caused a major education gap causing it to lag far behind other regions of the world. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa’s current tertiary enrollment ratio is in the same range as that of other developing regions 40 years ago. The major problem in Africa’s educational system is the African governments’ neglect of higher education. One factor that has contributed to the deteriorated state of this system is the relationship between higher education and law in many African countries. In Madagascar, the Ministry of Education appoints all faculty members, sets salaries, and determines working conditions. This forces the faculty of each institution to be closely linked to the political system. Rather than making teaching and research their number one priority they have to focus on “running” for election to win or maintain a seat as a faculty member. Teaching credentials are often ignored in favor of personal connections. A similar case occurs in Benin and Tanzania, where the government appoints all senior University officials. Yet another prime example is Cameroon where the Ministry of Education holds supervisory authority over Universities. The other extreme is also true in many African countries. Scarce or total lack of governmental regulation causes the quality of higher education to suffer. In Angola, universities have full autonomy in decision-making. A similar scenario has occurred in Guinea and Liberia. The total lack of regulation has often resulted in the sprouting of numerous high cost but low-quality “diploma mills”.

The blame for the present state of the African higher educational systems cannot be solely placed on the African governments. For many decades the international development community has encouraged the neglect of higher education by donating money solely to the development of primary education programs. Likewise, for a long time the World Bank believed that primary and secondary education were more important than tertiary education for the reduction of poverty. The World Bank exercises significant influence over developing countries and are therefore definitely to blame for the deteriorated state of tertiary education throughout the African continent. The World Bank’s posture was based on multiple studies that appeared to show that the returns to investing in primary and secondary education were higher than those of higher education. As proof to this outdated belief: from 1985 to 1989, 17% of the World Bank’s educational spending was onhigher education but, from 1995 to 1999 this percentage declined to just 7%. The focus at the time, it seemed, was only on primary basic education. The actions of the international community, the World Bank, and the African governments combined placed Africa on a direct path towards failure. But, there still may be hope for Africa’s youth. More than a decade later the World Bank has done a 360 degree turn in regards to higher education— realizing the terrible mistake it made by neglecting tertiary education.

Thousands of miles away from the African continent, in Canada, the 100 representatives of 17 nations in attendance at an international education advisory panel all agreed on one thing: In 2012 higher education is no longer a commodity for governments. Higher education has become a necessity for economic growth. Higher education has become so important that governments are willing to give away millions of dollars to have their youth receive the best education possible. Brazil is providing more than 75,000 scholarships for students to study overseas in the next four years. Likewise, China and Qatar are recruiting branch campuses from the United States and other western countries. There are definitely economic motivations in supporting higher education. In 2010 alone the United States earned more than $20 billion from international students. Internationalization of education is being viewed as the answer to the current education deficiencies in many nations around the globe. It’s becoming highly popular for developing countries to send their students overseas to countries such as the US and Europe.

In an elite high school in the Sichuan Province of China more than 800 students were competing for spots in Beijing’s top two universities in 2008. The year before only 59 students made the cut. Competition is fierce because the greater majority, those who don’t make it, are relegated to vocational schools. For many poor Chinese students without connections the only way to succeed and climb the social ladder is to show a strong performance on the national university entrance exam. The students that don’t make the Chinese cut have two options, vocational school or study abroad. The option in most cases is study overseas in the United States or Europe.

American and European universities are becoming flooded with foreign applicants limiting the number of seats available to their native students. “We’re in something akin to the gold rush, a frontier-style environment where colleges and universities,like prospectors in the 1800s, realize that there is gold out there” said David Hawkins, the director of public policy at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. For example, in the past three years Washington State has decreased admission offers to Washington residents, and increased them to students overseas. The primary reason is that Washington State is able to charge foreign students much more than a resident, often three times as much. This situation raises the question whether it is fair to American and European students to make admissions to their home universities even more competitive? Should countries fix their own educational systems first before sending their students overseas?

Fellow classmate, Vinny, believes that there are enough intelligent minds in the United States and there is no need to search overseas. As a college undergraduate soon to be applying to a professional program he thinks it only puts more pressure on American students. Sam, another classmate and prospective graduate student, feels that this new influx of foreign minds is making US programs even more competitive than they already are. Although she does see value and importance for students to be studying overseas—new ideas, techniques, and advances can be spread more rapidly that way. Jackie, an additional classmate, agrees with Sam on the importance of traveling abroad. She believes that traveling gives a depth to an individual’s experiences and opinions that cannot be learned otherwise.

As an American college student myself I agree with my classmates’ opinions and have the same concerns. There is definitely value in studying abroad. But in general, for an American student, studying abroad means being enrolled in an American institution and going abroad for a couple of semesters. American students are not taking away seats from foreign students when they travel abroad. Furthermore, by enrolling students from other countries into American institutions their own educational systems are not being improved. The growing trend of accepting such large numbers of foreign students into American universities will only succeed in creating a dependence on American education.    

Is the internationalization of education the correct answer for tertiary educational systems in developing countries such as those found in Africa? Internationalization in the way that it’s occurring now is not the answer to this problem. For instance, it is each country’s government that decides which students receive scholarships to study oversees. Governments cannot be fully trusted to hand out scholarships in an unbiased and equal manner. A child like Joab, an orphan with no connections, would not be a likely candidate to receive such a scholarship. What good is it to a country to ship out a select number of students overseas while leaving behind the greater majority in the same situation? The country will be left once again with a few prominent specialized individuals and a large population that is uneducated.

Africa and other regions of the world with developing countries can overcome poverty through higher education. Higher education will give them the power to compete at the international level. The first step is to direct more funds from the international development community to higher education. The key here is to ensure that the money is being used for tertiary education and by qualified institutions. This is where the World Bank comes in. As stated earlier the World Bank has significant influence over developing countries. Therefore, the World Bank should set up an incentive program where the amount of money a government receives is based on the quality of educational institutions, graduation rates, enrollment ratios including gender and poverty reduction statistics over a certain period of time. These steps would ensure developing countries have high-quality tertiary institutions that measure up to the international level.

Each government can then decide whether to provide free college education as is the case in Denmark, Greece, Argentina, Sweden and other countries around the globe. If they decide not to then they must set up a government support program to ensure that poverty does not impede a deserving student from obtaining a college education. For example, the US has the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which provides grants based on income, as well as many other loan and grant programs.  

The second step includes increasing the enrollment ratios at the primary and secondary level. For this to become a reality free public education is a must. In order to increase and maintain enrollment ratios, incentive programs should be used by governments. A prime example of such a program is Brazil’s Bolsa Familia. Under this program poor families receive financial assistance preferably paid to the woman. In order to receive this continued financial assistance families must have any children between the ages of 6-17 enrolled in school. In addition there is a minimum attendance policy as part of the conditions. A program such as this would ensure children remain in school and are not forced into the workforce prematurely.

The final step is the internationalization of education. Instead of shipping students overseas the government should encourage enrollment in home institutions with opportunities to study abroad. There should definitely be a strong relationship with the international community. Students will have the final decision whether to enroll in a home or foreign institution. But, if they are able to find what they are looking for at home they will be less likely to enroll overseas.

The plan proposed above is simply a rough basic outline of what needs to be addressed in many developing countries. Actually putting such a plan into action would definitely be more complicated.  In general a person needs an education and a chance to have a better life.  A country needs an educated specialized society that can provide suitable leaders that have the skills to build and then maintain a healthy economy. The world needs more self-sustained countries that are not dependent on the wealthier nations for constant support. Therefore, this plan of action aims to address the needs of the normal individual, such as Joab. At the same time it addresses the needs of a country, such as Kenya or any similar developing country. Finally it addresses the needs of the international community. A plan action, such as this one, would benefit every poor and wealthy nation alike. In order to reduce poverty through higher education the international community that now holds the most power and influence, such as the US and Europe, have to take the first initiative. This is because they are, after all, step one of the plan, they are the international development community.    

The Role of Governments in Higher Education

The Brazilian government is providing 75,000 scholarships for students to study overseas in the next four years. In a similar manner China is subsidizing thousands of their students to study overseas. Qatar has spent millions of dollars on importing branch campuses from the United States ans other western nations. Nations around the world are looking beyond their borders to send their children to school. It seems that higher education is taking a more protagonist role in international relations. In a recent international education policy conference one common theme emerged among the 100 people from 17 nations in attendance: the economic impact of higher education is attracting significant attention from university systems and governments. The bottom line they believe is that higher education, once reserved only for the privileged in many nations around the world, is now becoming a necessity for all citizens to have.

Another important theme discussed is the role that different governments are playing in engaging in or inhibiting the internationalization of education. For example, it is each nations government, and not each university, that decides what students can enter a country. Also  governments are the ones that decide which students get the scholarships to study overseas as well. For the most part having international students is beneficial for most countries.

In 2010 alone the US generated more than $20-billion mostly from foreign student studying in the US. As can be seen, for developed countries such as the US and most European countries internationalization of education is highly beneficial. Developing countries are most likely to send their students to those nations. But, we are forgetting about the young people that are left behind. What happens to the student who are not lucky enough to win a scholarship to study overseas? And, should countries be sending their students to other countries rather than fixing their own educational systems first?

School Enrollment Ratios in Africa

This table shows the educational trend that that occurs in most African countries. It can be observed that less than than half of African children reach secondary school and almost none reach tertiary education. The school life expentancy in some African countries are as follows:

• Niger (2002): 2.9 years
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999): 4.4 years
• Mauritius (2002): 11.7 years
• South Africa (2001): 12.4 years

The primary reason why children and young adults leave school is to enter the workforce and help support their families. In other words, poverty. About a quarter of children ages 5-14 are working, and among children ages 10-14, 31% are estimated to be working. In some African countries, such as Burundi, this number reaches 50%. It seems that African youth follow two paths. They either enter the workforce immediately with little to no formal education or receive some formal schooling, up to secondary school, and then enter the workforce. There is clearly a step missing in african youth's progression from education to the workforce, what is missing is a college education or at least vocational school training. Without proper training young people are only able to obtain low-paying non-specialized jobs. This results in low job security as well. In the long run most African countries are finding themselves with a large non-specialized youth workforce with little to no education. Another trend that can be observed in this table is the gender disparity that exists in terms of education. School life expectancy is always higher for males than females.

Further into Higher Education in Africa

This figure shows tertiary or higher education gross enrollment ratio in various regions of the world. As can be observed, although higher education has risen considerably in all parts of the world Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest enrollment ratio in the world.

There are several factors that have contributed to the deteriorated state of the higher education system of Africa. One such factor is the relationship between higher education and law in many African countries. For example, the Ministry of Education in Madagascar appoints all faculty members, sets salaries, and determines working conditions. This forces faculty members to be closely linked to the political system. Rather than making teaching their number one priority they have to focus more on "running" for election to win or maintain a seat as a faculty member. A similar case occurs in Benin and Tanzania where the goverment appoints all senior University managers. Likewise, in Cameroon the Minster of Education hold supervisory authority over Universities.

It is important to note that this is not the case in all African countries. For instance, in Angola and Liberia universities are allowed full autonomy in decision making. The problem that arises here is that often the quality of education suffers do to lack of governmental regulation.

As can be seen, the higher educational system in Africa varies widely. There often seems to be a lack of balance of power beween the higher education institutions and the government.

Higher Education in Africa

Shanta Devarajan is the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa. One of the primary ways that he suggests overcoming poverty in Africa is through higher education. He feels that higher education has been neglected while more emphasis has been placed on primary education. Every year there are about 7-10 million young people in Africa searching for jobs. Devarajan in junction with the World Bank and an organization called Africa Gathering have banded to together in search of answers. One of their first moves is to get to the root of the problem. In order to do so they have organized three meeting across Africa: Friday, April 20 in Accra, Ghana; Tuesday, April 24 in Nairobi, Kenya; and Friday, April 27 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. What is unique about these meetings is that they are reaching out to young people to attend and brainstorm with them on the issue. The World Bank is in search of answers and they hope to get them by asking the people who are most affected. With this real-time feedback the World Bank plans on creating a report on youth employment in Africa. One of the most discussed topics in these meetings will be higher education.

What's is it like to live in...?

For the second project of this semester I will be researching various cultures around the world. I have decided to narrow my search down to 3 or 4 cultures. While researching online I came across a web page on BBCnews.com that focuses on different cultures around the world. What caught my attention about this site is that it doesn't only provided factual information but, also provides selected comments of viewers. While visiting the African web page in the same site, I found very interesting that most of the comments were from Africans themselves. The variety in cultures from one country to the next became evident as I read each comment. This made me see that it would be easier if I chose just one country in each of the regions I will be writing about. For example, Africa is a very large continent and it would be very difficult to condense all of its varied cultures into one.

Another region in that I am interested in writing about is Latin America. I will most likely be writing about culture in El Salvador since I have personal experience in that area. My parents are from El Salvador and I have visited the country with them on various occasions. This will be the first time I actually go out and research about Salvadoran culture so am very intrigued in what I will find in my search.

The third world region that I will focus on is North America, more specifically the US. This is the culture that I am most familiar with since I have lived here all of my life. Still it will be interesting to find out what other people think of the US, not just its politics but about the people that live here.I am still debating if I will include a fourth region but, for know this is what I will focus on.

Brainstorming

For the second half of the semester I want to do something creative. After viewing last week the viral video Kony 2012 it dawned on me how heavily the social location you are born in defines your future, who you are and what you are to become. Of course, there are always exceptions, people who are able to define and create their own social location but, this is not always the case. My idea for the second half of the semester is to choose various locations around the globe and write from their perspective. In other words, research and explore how it is to be living in that part of the world in 2012. The creative part is that I will not be simply writing a research paper but, actually writing as if I were there living and feeling their experiences. I am thinking about somehow intertwining these separate stories into one, having each story start independently and then somehow meeting at the end.  

Encounter

            The alarm rang at 8:00 am , I jumped from my bed  racing from my room to the bathroom and back trying to get ready as fast as possible. Grabbing my books I hurried towards the front door and into my car. It was Monday and I had three classes in a row, two lab reports, two quizzes, and one huge test to think about. It was midterm season after all, why should I be surprised? After five and a half semesters of college under my belt I felt like a veteran, but stress always seemed to get the better of me. As I drove towards school I could see all the early morning commotion around me, yellow school busses, and minivans filled to the brim with kids. I was “lucky” to be driving behind a yellow school bus, which made it a point to stop at every street, even though many times there were no kids waiting for it.

            As I was inching my way towards a stop sign, that seemed miles away, I was suddenly pushed forward, I realized someone had hit my back bumper. This was the last thing I needed on such a busy day. I got out of my car and went to inspect the damage; it was nothing more than a scratch. I looked towards the other car trying to get a glimpse of the culprit. A frantic woman emerged from the inside. Slim figure, dark sunglasses, dark short hair, white blouse, navy trousers, pearl necklace, I was checking off all of this characteristics on my imaginary checklist, and a light bulb suddenly turned on in my head. She took off her sunglasses and I confirmed my suspicions, it was none other than Anne Applebaum.

The rest occurred in a blur, I introduced myself and so did she. She had been on her way to Fairfield University to give a talk on her research on communism. I told her I was reading one of her books and researching her work for a very important school assignment. I asked her if she would be in town again anytime soon and if so if I could possibly interview her for my project. She said her last stop when in Connecticut was always Yale, since she studied there. So it was set, the following Monday, 3:00pm, Yale Café, a couple hours before her presentation.

So here I am now, waiting for Anne Applebaum in one of Yale’s cafes. She finally arrives; I order an iced coffee, to my surprise she orders the same.  I sit very nice and straight and take out my long list of questions, after all she is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and I want to be at my best. And so I begin: “What inspired you to research and uncover the mysteries and misconceptions of communism?” She answers with a question of her own: “Did you ever learn in school about concentration camps in Europe?” “Of course” I answers “Who doesn’t know about the Holocaust” and to my surprise she says “aha, there is the problem”.

From there she began to tell me about the system of mass forced labor involving millions of people scattered throughout the Soviet Unions and its borderlands. She talks about her personal journey through the borderlands of Europe and all of the firsthand accounts she has heard from the victims of such camps. I felt something slip off my lap, it was my long list of questions, I thought “Wow”, after hearing this woman speak so passionately about the atrocities and lasting effects of communism I felt like picking up my own sword and shield and help her fight against all this injustice.   

Between East and West

Anne Applebaum is an expert in social, economic and political transitions. More specifically she has dedicated her life's work to researching commenting on communism.

In 1991 Anne Applebaum made a journey from the Baltic to the Black Sea, across Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine just as the soviet union was about to collapse. She chronicles her journey and experiences in her first book, Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe. What she found was a region of changing and shifting national identities. She focuses on the "borderlands" of Europe, regions where cultures overlap, where individuals have mixed identities. Applebaum writes about what is means to live on such a border and the negative implications that it has caused the people of these regions throughout history.

Starting to write about Anne Applebaum (draft)

It was the winter of 1924, Lenin had just died leaving Russia’s communist future submerged in uncertainty. Russia was now a country with many promises but no leader to carry them out, no leader to answer its questions. Shortly after his death, Nadezhda Krupskaia the widow of Lenin, was quoted for saying: 

“We are building socialism … and as long as we are building socialism but have not yet built it, we will also have homeless children.”

Russia’s communist era can be remembered for its empty promises and excuses for the reality for the terrible state of the country. The same, deteriorated, description of the state of the Soviet Union was one that could have been written at any time in the 1920s, 1930s, or 1940s.

Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer prize-winning author and journalist who has devoted her life’s work to researching and writing extensively on communism. She is also the current Director of Political Studies at the Legatum Institute in London. The Legatum Institute is an independent public policy organization. They conduct research, produce publications, and programs to support self-sustaining societies around the world. In this organization Applebaum has focused on projects related to political and economic transitions, such as Russia’s transition from communism. She lived in Russia for several years in the 1990s conducting research on the state of the country and the living conditions of its citizens. In 1995 she wrote a book titled Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe. This book was about her journey through the Soviet Union just as it was about to break apart. She is able to provide a first-hand account of her experience in Russia as well as second-hand accounts from the Russians themselves. More recently she has written about the lasting effects Communisms has left on the people of Russia. Applebaum published another book in 2003 about the victims and development of the soviet concentration camps. She is a well-rounded public intellectual who is currently using her knowledge and personal experience and applying them to more recent events, such as the current political conflicts in Libya.

People in their natural state

Location: Observing in the library

Person #1: Conservative sweater, blue jeans, cowboy boots, eyebrows scrunched, posture straight, determined look, occasionally glancing sideways. Bright pink fingernails furiously tapping away on a keyboard. She stopped for a couple of seconds glancing at the library entrance, as if searching for more inspiration. Possibly having found what she was looking for she continued her work.

Person #2: Rushing towards Starbucks, only to be intercepted by someone else. he shifted his weight from one sneaker to the other waiting for his turn. By looking at his impatience at having to stand in line one would have thought he knew what he was going to order. He finally reached the front of the line but did not order immediately. He glanced at the assortment of muffins, and cookies for a couple of seconds, debating his choices, finally deciding on the triple chocolate chip.

Person #3: She was sitting on a sofa, her feet propped up for comfort, her eyes occasionally closing for too long. She had a computer on her lap but did not attempt any writing or browsing. I started getting tired myself so I decided to look away.

Person #4: He was sitting in a corner by himself engrossed in a giant, intimidating book. He was going from page to page in stride. A group of noisy student walked by him but nothing could deter him. He scribbled something on a piece of paper, adjusted his Yankees baseball cap and continued on as if he was the only person in the library.

Person #5: Two girls were sitting at the same table wearing identical sports apparel. They were most likely members of the same sports team. They were sitting next to each other with their computers open occasionally glancing at each others screen. One of them pointed at her screen and laughed, the other one quickly did the same. They looked like twins, dressed the same, and acting the same.   

Mind Reading

Mind reading may become a reality in the near future. US scientists have recently reported that they have found a way to decipher brain signals and interpret what they mean. More specifically what they are trying to do is interpret electrical signals. When a person hears a word or phrase they tend to imagine the same word or phrase in their brain. This occurs in the temporal lobe of the brain that is responsible for auditory perception. The signal that is detected corresponds to what is being imagined. We have often thought of mind reading as a super power that only belonged in the movies but, as can be seen not everything may be fiction after all.   

American Patriotism

Anne Applebaum recently posted an article on the surge of American patriotism after the capturing of Osama bin Laden. She titles this post Bin Laden killed: For a day or two, we’ll feel like the United States of America. She compares this surge of patriotism with other events that occurred such as Britain's royal wedding and for Poland, the beautification of a pope. She purposely compares the death of bin Laden to theses events to make a strong point on America's waining patriotism. In her opinion the war, the financial crisis and the recession "chipped away" our post-September 11 patriotism and since then we have dedicated ourselves to fight amongst each other. We have even gotten to the point of questioning the citizenship of our own president. She writes in this piece:

In the wake of this operation, they’ll have to think twice. After all, George W Bush – a cowboy-boot wearing, slang-talking, wood-chopping American – called for the US to haul in bin Laden, “dead or alive”. But Barack Obama – whose middle name is “Hussein”, whose surname rhymes with “Osama”, and who definitely does not come from Texas – is the one who actually did it. 

One of the things I like about Anne Applebaum is the style of her writing. For example, in this post she uses humor to lighten the tone of the piece. Her post is somewhat long but she keeps the reader interested by inserting comments such as the example showcased above.

The Floating University

 The Floating University is a recently launched for-profit project that promises "An entire undergraduate education on one foot" . It's important to note that it's not a diploma granting program.The main idea is to bring together some of the best professors and thinkers in their fields with students and individual learners from all over the country.  Some of the professors currently being showcased belong to Harvard, Yale, and Bard among other institutions. Some critics are skeptical about the amount of content that these "survey" courses will contain. The idea of a The Floating University intrigued me because it promises high quality education to anyone that is interested.   

Anne Applebaum

 Prior to this assignment I did not know who or what was a Public Intellectual (PI). After researching "What is a Public Intellectual?" on various sites I reached one conclusion, PIs should bridge a gap between the elite academic/intellectual class and the normal educated population. When we attend college we usually choose one concentration to focus on, we simply cannot be experts in every field. What is significant about PIs is that they are able to explain and transmit complex topics using language that is accessible to the average person.

Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer prize-winning author, Director of Political Studies at the Legatum Institute in London, as well as runs projects on political and economic transition. But, none of these descriptions were the main reason why I chose Anne Applebaum as my Public Intellectual. In addition to being all the descriptions mentioned above Anne Applebaum is a journalist for the Washington Post. She also has her own website where she discusses topics ranging from foreign policy to domestic issues that are affecting Americans now. From the long lists of PIs I researched she appeared to be one of the most accessible to the public.

In one of her more recent publications in The Washington Post, "What Libya has inherited from Moammar Gadaffi", she discusses the lasting effects of Gadaffi's regime in Lybia. Although she is writing non-fiction she is able to pull the reader in with metaphors, with her use of rhetoric:

"Young men in fatigues hang around outside the offices of the Transitional National Council, carrying rifles and flashing V (for victory) signs at visitors. Inside, older men in leather jackets sit on sofas drinking tea, while temporary officials cope with clashing appointments and race up and down the hallways. It’s just how one imagines the Smolny Institute, Lenin’s St. Petersburg headquarters, in 1917: amateur, enthusiastic, disorganized, rumor-filled and slightly paranoid, all at once."

The reader, in this case myself, feels the need to read on as if it were a novel, wanting to now what happens next.

In her website she discusses other topics that often have nothing to do with foreign policy, rather topics such as the social location, the reality that many Americans are living today. In one of her posts she questions, Can America Survive Without Its Backbone?. In this writing she begins with a personal story/experience belonging to one of her close friends. She focuses on the struggles of the middle class to remain "middle class". Applebaum hones in on the disparities that exist from one city to the next in our own country. She makes the point that in the US the city you are born in, the city you grow up in will definitely serve as an obstacle or an advantage when it becomes time to plan your future.

I look forward to reading more of Anne Applebaum's work. So far I have the impression that she is a well-rounded writer that is able to reach her audience very effectively.

Bad Hotel

This video is about a group of workers in a hotel who are demanding their rights to health care for their families and themselves. They decided to band together and organized a flash mob. They danced and sang to Lady Gaga all the while demanding what is rightfully theirs. They did this in the main lobby of the hotel in front of dozens of customers and demanded that everyone boycott the hotel. The workers are protesting but they are also having fun doing so. I decided to include this video in my blog because I thought that it was a very creative way to protest. They obtained the attention they were searching for almost immediately.

Stopped In My Tracks

Tuesday Jan. 24:

After completing the writing exercise in class I began to think about the past, when I was just a kid. For that exercise I ended up writing about one experience in 6th that meant very much to me. That was the year that I became very involved in the music department at my school. I was in the school choir as well as played the trumpet in the middle school band. I look back at that year with nostalgia because I recall feeling, carefree, happy, and free of stress, nothing compared to the rhythm of college. In my writing I described a scene in which I am anticipating attending one of my band recitals and then go on to describe with metaphors what I felt when I was actually there. I described how the instrument felt in my hands, how the music sounded to my ears. Prior to this writing exercise I had never sat down to write about a meaningful event in my life in such a short period of time. Probably if this had been a formal paper that I had to write about myself I would have never chosen this event. I would have probably have thoroughly thought out a more appropriate event to describe who I am. In my opinion having to write on such a short notice allowed me to be more free with my thoughts and feelings, it brought out my subconscious, things that I had not thought about in years. Here is an expert of that piece of writing:

"Tick, tick, tick" the day seemed to drag on forever as I stared at the clock on the wall. I could hear my English teacher's voice in background, reading the longest most boring story she had ever chosen to read. As I sat there in my desk all I wanted to do was rush to band practice. I wanted to feel the smooth, shiny, gold body of my trumpet between my fingers as I produced note after note for all to enjoy. To untrained eyes my sheet of music was foreign language but not for me. I navigated through that sheet of music like an expert sailor through calm seas and ranging storms. When I began playing I could think about nothing else, I knew just were to go, exactly what to do..."


Friday Jan. 26:

I shut the door behind my back and plumped down on the nearest sofa. I was not only physically tired but also mentally tired. The school week was finally over, the weekend was near. These are often the feelings one gets when we focus on something for such a long. It is often those kinds of days that I feel that we wrap ourselves in our goals and neglect to look beyond them. We become engulfed in academics and neglect to see the big picture. As I sat there on that sofa I tried to imagine were I would be in 5, 10, even 20 years. These thoughts stopped me in my tracks. There were in fact numerous constants that I wanted my life to always have: family, love, education, travel, security among other things.
Sunday Jan. 29:

Browsing through Netflix I came across a movie called "The Secret". According to this movie the power of the mind is extremely great and has no limits. The movie professes that if you set your minds to accomplish something and are always positive about it will become true due to the law of attraction. You do not have to know how you will accomplish something, you only have to believe that it is true. For example, if you want to become a doctor, teacher, lawyer, rich, you have to think about those goals as if there is no doubt in your mind that they will become true. Of course I was immediately suspicious and skeptical of what I was hearing. The movie was created in a way that forced the viewer to at least attempt to believe that what they were hearing was actually true. This is because it was composed of interviews of people for whom the "Secret" was a reality. Regardless of the promises that this movie makes, one thing that I am positive about is the power of the mind. The mind may not be a miracle worker but it does have great power in our lives. The state of mind in which we find ourselves often defines the  directions and decisions we make in life.   

State of the Union?

President Obama began this year's State of the Union Address with his most important accomplishment this past year and probably of his whole 4-year term that is, removing troops from Iraq and the death of Osama bin Laden. He speaks of the courage and bravery of all the troops that fought in Iraq as well as the Navy Seals that brought in the most wanted man in America. From his use of rhetoric one is driven to believe that the "War on Terror" is finally over an in addition, Iraq is now a better country because we were there. He states:

 "At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, [these achievements have] exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together."

From this statement one perceives that since the war is now over terrorism is now something of the past and it's time to look towards the future when in reality nothing is that simple. This year's State of the Union address served as a launchpad for the democratic campaign for the presidency. The president did not focus on any one theme or policy. His speech was about everything that concerns Americans today and that may affect how they will vote this coming November. Another way to look at this speech is as a rebuttal to the republican campaigns that have been raging on these past few months. The president spoke about education, natural gas, taxes, Iran, foreign trade, supporting innovation, global influence, the list goes on and on. This night was not about the state of the union but about, "What the president can do for you" if reelected.

The president's speech was filled with many promises that we all hope he will keep. As we approach November we should expect to hear many more promises from all sides both Democratic and Republican. As we saw in the film "Lions for Lambs", pretty words or a nice cover story are not sufficient to lead a country in the correct direction. This country is a democracy first and foremost for the people and by the people. This is a privilege of great power handed to the citizens of this country, a privilege that for many individuals around the world is but a distant dream. With great power also comes great responsibilities. Let us not be led astray by rhetoric, let us be guided by facts. When it comes our turn to hand in the ballot let us be well informed and confident in the choices we are making for ourselves and our country as a whole.   

Blogs, Blogs, and more Blogs

After surfing the web and viewing many different blogs it appears that the majority of blogs choose to focus on one theme. Some themes include travel, shopping, comics, getting into medical school or whatever interests the blogger. While this is true, there are other blogs that are not so structured because life does not always function in that manner. Some blogs chronicle daily life or choose to focus on numerous interests. Regardless of the style the blogger chooses to implement a blog usually attracts an audience with similar interests as their own. They are able to create a network of followers that can often serve as a support system for the blogger. Each blog has its own purpose, its own personality. The best blogs in my opinion are those that are easy to follow, and the design of the blog is welcoming to the reader. Also, the blog should encourage the audience to comment and participate. The blogger should have an open conversation with their audience.

The benefit of blogging is that it’s a free space in which you can express your ideas and interests freely. You can choose to remain anonymous or choose to reveal your identity. It becomes easier to spread your ideas and have your voice heard. There are often not many opportunities to voice our opinions in a job or school setting. A blog allows you to do so without much effort; it becomes something natural as telling your best friends what you are feeling or thinking. Often we become disconnected with the outside world and become immersed only in our immediate surroundings. We forget that there is more to the world than what we see in our everyday lives. Blogs allow us to travel to other places alien to us and experience things that we have not before.

I have not yet decided what the theme of my blog will be. I am interested in many things such as books, travel, school, my major and minor (Biology and Spanish respectively) among other things. As the course progresses I hope to develop an idea that interests me the most and that will allow me to express myself freely. In other words, I am searching for a theme that will flow with the rhythm of my life. This is the first time that I will have a blog and I want the experience to be meaningful. I do not want my blog to become a burden in my life or just be another item on my “to do list”.

Here are some blogs that have interested so far:

http://leatherk27.blogspot.com/

After Prof. S suggested we take a look at SHU-grad Kelly Leather’s blog I went ahead and looked. Once I began reading it I didn’t want to stop. I loved the way she incorporated pictures into her descriptions of Albania, it made the blog much more interesting. After reading about Albania and looking at the pictures I felt that I wanted to personally travel and go see it. This blog opened my eyes to the many possibilities that await us after we graduate. It sparked an interest and curiosity in me to travel and experience different cultures and different ways of life.

http://comicsworthreading.com/

This blog is about comics. After viewing this blog I realized that a blog could be about anything in particular. All that is required is a strong interest in something and the desire to share your interest with others. This blog was also designed to have many pictures to complement the bloggers post. The way in which a blog is organized and presented is also a very important factor to consider. Presentation is a very important aspect to consider when you want others to comment on your writing.  

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/

This is a NY Times news blog in which anyone can comment on events occurring all over the globe. I really liked this blog because it is not limited to one topic. Many topics are covered from domestic to international affairs. Each small blog is divided by news story. You can choose to comment on more than one story. I liked the format of this blog because while the reader is being informed about what is occurring around the globe they can comment and debate at the same time. The reader is not limited to just one news story but has the liberty to choose making the experience more interesting.

Lions for Lambs

                The title of this film, “Lions for Lambs” raises an interesting question. Who are the lions and who are the lambs? The film presents us with three different groups of people and the telling of one story.  We are presented with a Congressman and a successful journalists, a group of infantry soldiers fighting in Iraq, and finally college student Todd Hayes. Todd has what it takes to become very successful, according to one of his professors. Professor Stephen Malley had only seen this type of potential in two of his former students, Arian and Ernest. Frustrated with the situation of the country in regards to the war in Iraq, Arian and Ernest decided to join the armed forces, against the wishes of Professor Malley. It seems that Professor Malley doesn’t want history to repeat itself. He wants to lead Todd in the correct direction. Todd sees politics as nonsense. In his mind the country is lead with lies, lies that only serve to maintain those in power. The question that Todd faces after speaking with Professor Stephen Malley is to choose whether to “drive” or “to be driven”? Whether to be a lamb or a lion?

                The phrase “Lions for Lambs” can be translated to strong brave soldiers led by weak incompetent leaders. The lack of communication between the individuals making the calls and those carrying them out is very predominant in the story. Senator Jasper Irving has no regard for human loss in his road towards glory. As he tells Janine Roth, he wants to give the American people what they have been waiting for, a win that will pave his way to more power in the government. Senator Irving can be described as the Lamb leading the Lions. For Irving everything is a strategic plan, everything can be accomplished by hiding the dirty work and covering it up with a nice cover story.

                 So what really is this talk of lambs and lions all about? The reality is that anyone of us can represent the character of Todd Hayes. Every one of us has a choice to make in regards to the future of our country. If we desire change we must cause it. How we decide to bring about such a change is as important as taking that first step. Arian and Ernest wanted to change an institution but went in through the back door instead of the front. They placed themselves under the instruction of the “lambs” they had criticized and hoped to reform. Professor Malley was trying to make Todd understand that there were more than two options. That is, that it’s definitively possible to be a strong leader and lead a strong country at the same time. Often as a society we forget that we too have power. We take it for granted and allow ourselves to be led in the wrong direction. When we come to realize what has happened it is often too late. Then we become disappointed in our government as Todd did and remove ourselves. This film emphasizes the fact that it is our responsibility to find answers to the problems and conflicts that our country faces and portrays what can happen if we do not.