Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
NYT Article by Sara Rimer
Back to school: Cross Keys' mission
A Second Chance for Refugee Students
AJC articles
Reading these articles makes me realize how sheltered I’ve been. The school I attended in Mississippi was an all white private school up until my sophomore year. When I graduated there were 3 African American students and about five Asian students in the school. When I think back on my school and then read these articles about how challenging it is for these students that come from so many different areas and countries, it stuns and amazes me. I completely agree with the ajc.com article that says that these non-natives can understand concepts but have problems articulating them. Some English-speaking students have the same problem. They understand the ideas behind the concept but have problems writing it down when it comes time for tests and homework. I also know what it’s like to be moved away from your home, without your consent and into a new country with people who you don’t understand. My dad was in the army when I was younger so we were constantly moving around to different countries. Granted it wasn’t so bad, he was mainly moved around between the United States and Europe, but there were instances where it took me a while to adapt to the language and the customs. That’s one thing that I was surprised that the article didn’t touch on: how the education system itself is or could be completely different than the one they are used to.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
McBrien "A Second Chance for Refugee Students"
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Gutek Chapter 8
A section of Chapter Eight: Educational Systems in National Contexts focuses on “The Problem of Comparability.” This particular section discusses the American standpoint in international comparisons of educational systems, which are done by the IAEEA and the NAEP; the testing mentioned covered mathematics and science, subject matter that has less specific cultural context and should be uniformly taught. In the 1992 survey, as with prior surveys, ranked the United States and average to poor in comparison with other technologically developed countries. The text mentions that one of the primary arguments of how this is not an appropriate comparison relates to the fact that more academically diverse students in the United States complete a higher level of education.
Based on my own experiences in Germany, I can attest the truth of this statement. Germany divides their students into diverse pathways of education after primary school. Here, every student moves onto secondary school and is then filtered into class levels; therefore, more students are going through the secondary education system. Also, there are very few schools in the United States that have the option of vocational training programs. In Germany, the students are placed, based on academic testing in Grundschule, into a university-bound program through 13th grade at the Gymnasium, or in a 10th grade Realschule, which ends with a skilled apprenticeship, or lastly into the Hauptschule, which ends at 9th grade and prepares students for a vocational school or basic work in public or secretarial service. There are very few Gesamtschule, which are schools that allow for students to complete academics at all of these levels. International testing occurs from the Gymnasium, where the students have already been selected for academic skill and is, therefore, a more elite group than the American students participating in mathematical tests in high school.
Banks 17 - 47
Banks gives us a brief glimpse into the educational systems of other countries and offers both praise and criticism. We also get a little bit of history and assurance that things are generally improving. However, Banks signs off the article stating that there is not yet a solution and that these issues are still being worked on. I just feel as though he didn’t really discover anything new in this article or point out anything that was particularly startling. The fact that he ends the article with a series of questions suggests that Banks too is unsatisfied with his findings. I would have appreciated the article much more if I had been left with answers rather than questions.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Castles, pages 17-29
Castles p. 17-29
Stephen Castles writes about issues that can occur when globalization with take away the identity of a citizen to his or her nation-state. While it is true that with globalization, individuals may feel less connected to specific locations and governments, the positive aspects are immense. In Europe, for example, the Schengen Union was created to allow for easy travel between European countries by taking down the borders. This has caused more tourism, as people are able to travel between countries without showing a passport. The European Union has allowed people to work almost anywhere in Europe without dealing with work visa issues. This creates more economic prosperity for people who may otherwise not have been able to experience it.
I did my semester abroad in the Czech Republic (part of the Schengen Union) and it was painless and easy to travel across most of Europe. The Czech Republic used to be a communist regime, however, now citizens are able to work and travel all over. They are being exposed to all different cultures and while this may take away from a sense of Czech citizenship, it opens up more opportunities to succeed. Castles is right that having a national identify is important, (as evidence by the recent inauguration ceremony) however this must be balanced with a constant effort to increase globalization.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Gutek 1 & 8
In Chapter 1 of Gutek's American Education in a Global Society, the emphasis on the importance of events taking place in remote countries is highlighted. Throughout history, we have interacted with foreign nations in such instances of war, trade, and politics. As we continue to hold relationships with these foreign countries and study their economic, political, and educational systems, it is important to understand how these operations affect our own society and cultures. In any relationship, it is important to understand both sides so that one party and their actions are not ruled out and undermined during certain situations. When both parties fully understand each other, the relationship can grow and the connections between us, and other peoples can be developed. In Chapter 8, Gutek explains how this concept of foreign understanding applies to education. The study of American education exists for many different purposes, two of which are seen as primary and most important: To develop and improve our educational system, and to better understand students of foreign backgrounds. Each region of the world has its own model of schooling. There are pros and cons of each and as we study these options, we are able to take certain aspects and use them to further build our own. As our country continues to become more diverse, these multicultural students must adjust to our educational systems. It is our job to help these students adapt and to alter our teaching styles to accommodate to some of their learning techniques. As we study a global society we must define the reasons why we are studying it, and how we can benefit from its understanding.
Banks Reading
Gutek, Chapter 8
One thing that really stuck out to me in this chapter was something that we had discussed earlier last week in class. Comparative education is both a mirror and a window, "looking out aids one to both understand a broader perspective as well as look inward and get a clearer picture of what is taking place in American education." In other words, comparative education not only allows us to reflect upon ourselves and our experiences, but it also helps us to gain a global perspective on educational issues over the world. I look forward to learning more about different educational systems and issues and understanding the similarities and differences between them so that I can have this window and mirror perspective.
Gutek Chap. 1
I also found it a coincidence that the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to make Americans more competitive against foreignors. The Act has stressed standardized testing and therefore most teachers have focused solely on reading, writing, and math, and left out important subjects such as art, social studies, and foreign language that contribute to having a "global perspective." Professional corporations, which the U.S. economy largely depends on, have strongly encouraged diversity in the last ten years because having employees with different sources of ideas and outlooks (being able to think "out of the box") gives them a potential competitive advantage. It is interesting that the No Child Left Behind Act has actually impeded upon this personal strength from developing in students by limiting their thinking to the basics. Also as Gutek mentioned, corporations are becoming multinational and therefore their employees need to know how to communicate across cultural lines. The only way to learn this effectively is by having an international education from the beginning.
Gutek, Chapter 1
Banks Ch1.
Friday, January 16, 2009
ICS and RFS
www.intcomschool.org
http://refugeefamilyservices.org/
Monday, January 5, 2009
International News Websites
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://news.google.com/
http://www.wnnetwork.com/ (World News Network)
http://iht.com/ (International Herald Tribune)
http://nytimes.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://allafrica.com/ (Africa)
http://mg.co.za/ (South Africa)
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/ (Nigeria)
http://www.ghanaweb.com (Ghana)
http://www.granma.cu/ (Cuba)
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ (Jamaica)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/index.html (Canada)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ (India)
http://www.dawn.com/ (Pakistan)
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ (China)
http://www.asahi.com/english/index.html (Japan)
http://philnews.com/ (Philippines)
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/index.htm (Egypt)
http://turkishpress.com/ (Turkey - though run out of the US by Anatolia.com)
http://www.jpost.com/ (Israel)
http://bethlehemnews.com/ (Palestine)