Coming in at number ten in the most noteworthy education stories of this year is the Texas cheerleaders at Kountze High School and their deep love and devotion to Christianity. They wrote encouraging verses from the Bible on banners that football players run through right before their games until the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation persuaded the school district to keep God out of their football games. Out of protest, the 15 cheerleaders and their parents sued the school district and claimed that they were trying to take away their freedom of religion and speech. After the entire nation put their two cents in, Governor Rick Perry intervened and spoke out against the ban. A judge allowed the cheerleaders to use the "I love Jesus" banners for the rest of the season. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like far too much work to go through in order to make sure your team knows that they endurance of God is with them.
Number eight on the list is Harvard's cheating scandal. Despite rules stating that answers to take-home finals are not to be discussed with others, 125 students at Harvard University submitted answers on a take-home final that were either identical or too close for comfort. So much for Ivy League integrity, eh?
Number five is the 'ever-worsening student loan crisis.' Need I say more? I didn't think so.
Number three is a story that I love and feel very strongly about. Malala Yousafzai was 11 years old when she started blogging about the Taliban's ban on girls' education. On October 9, at the age of 14, she and two of her classmates were shot by Taliban assailants on they way home from school. The bullet grazed her brain and she's currently recovering at a hospital in Britain. The article, written by Kaylsa Webley, reads, "A month after Malala was shot, the Pakistani government announced that it will adopt new measure to get every child into school by the end of 2015."
I guess it's good to know that at the end of the day, my Latin final isn't the biggest educational drama of 2012.
Monday, December 10, 2012
This just in: Sesame Street teaches kids ALL about divorce
An article in TIME's Childhood section declared that on Sesame Street, 'D' is for divorce.
In 1992, to keep up with an ever-changing society and skyrocketing divorce rates, Sesame Street was resolute in its goal of taking on topics that most children's shows wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Subsequently, Mr. Snuffleupagus (more fondly known as Snuffy) was cast in the role of child divorcee.
After Snuffy confides in a horrified Big Bird, Gordon breaks down what divorce is and why it happens in a child-friendly manner. Teeny-tiny viewers were told that sometimes divorce is for the best. Gordon assured everyone that Snuffy and his sister will always be loved, even if dad moves out. Everything was all planned out, and the episode went through six revisions with a team of writers, researchers and producers, but chaos still ensued once the segment was tested on preschoolers a few weeks before it was set to air. The preschoolers were confused, upset and in tears! Where would Snuffy live? Why don't his parents love him anymore? Will my parents get a divorce? Sesame Street admitted defeat and killed the show.
Now, twenty years later, the persistent people at Sesame Street are going for round two, but they're being extremely cautious. The focus of the episode will be making sure kids understand that they're not alone and that it isn't their fault.
Will Sesame Street be successful in their second attempt at educating kids about divorce? Who knows!? The anticipation is killing me...
It was a normal afternoon on Sesame Street when Snuffy prepared to drop the 'd' word on preschool viewers: divorce. The following is dialogue from a segment of the ground breaking divorce scene:
Snuffy: My dad is moving out of our cave. I'm not sure where. Some cave across town.
Big Bird: But why!?
Snuffy: Because of something call a divorce.GASP! Scandal on Sesame Street!
After Snuffy confides in a horrified Big Bird, Gordon breaks down what divorce is and why it happens in a child-friendly manner. Teeny-tiny viewers were told that sometimes divorce is for the best. Gordon assured everyone that Snuffy and his sister will always be loved, even if dad moves out. Everything was all planned out, and the episode went through six revisions with a team of writers, researchers and producers, but chaos still ensued once the segment was tested on preschoolers a few weeks before it was set to air. The preschoolers were confused, upset and in tears! Where would Snuffy live? Why don't his parents love him anymore? Will my parents get a divorce? Sesame Street admitted defeat and killed the show.
Now, twenty years later, the persistent people at Sesame Street are going for round two, but they're being extremely cautious. The focus of the episode will be making sure kids understand that they're not alone and that it isn't their fault.
Will Sesame Street be successful in their second attempt at educating kids about divorce? Who knows!? The anticipation is killing me...
Dear Scott Walker: "That's utter bullshit."
Governor Scott Walker is dealing with a sea of anger from Wisconsin poll workers after he proposed to eliminate same-day voting registration in the state in order to take some weight off the shoulders of overworked officials on Election Day.
In a speech following Barack Obama's win in Wisconsin, Walker said, "States across the country that have same-day registration have real problems because the vast majority of their states have poll workers who are wonderful volunteers, who work 13-hour days and who in most cases are retirees. It's difficult for them to handle the volume of people who come at the last minute. It'd be much better if registration was done in advance of election day. It'd be easier for our clerks to handle that. All that needs to be done."
But despite Walker's suggestion, poll workers who spoke with The Huffington Post had different opinions about same-day registration, though. They didn't see it as a burden, and they think that Walker shouldn't eliminate it.
Lanore Rusch is 75 and took offense to Walker's insinuation that retirees can't handle the task of being a poll worker. "We aren't overworked... For Walker to say that the people who are doing the registration can't keep up is just foolish. He should come down and watch once in awhile." Lanore's son, Kevin Rusch, was a little less politically correct in his responce to Walker's proposal. He merely called it utter bullshit.
Same-day registration has been in place in Wisconsin since 1976, and as I read The Huffington Post's article on the matter I couldn't help but wonder if Walker's proposal (which is supported by Wisconsin's incoming Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, by the way) is only being put forth in hopes of decreasing the number of democratic votes in the state.
As I read on, Heather Diehl Reames (a poll worker from Madison) confirmed my thoughts about Walker's motives. "All they're trying to do by getting rid of same-day registration is get rid of minority and lower-income and basically Democratic votes. It strikes me as almost a poll tax."
Does Walker really think that he can fool Wisconsin citizens by saying that his proposal is solely meant to lighten the burden on "overworked" officials on Election Day? The whole thing seems pretty transparent to me, and I must admit that I'd be pretty disappointed in anyone who fell for that facade.
In a speech following Barack Obama's win in Wisconsin, Walker said, "States across the country that have same-day registration have real problems because the vast majority of their states have poll workers who are wonderful volunteers, who work 13-hour days and who in most cases are retirees. It's difficult for them to handle the volume of people who come at the last minute. It'd be much better if registration was done in advance of election day. It'd be easier for our clerks to handle that. All that needs to be done."
But despite Walker's suggestion, poll workers who spoke with The Huffington Post had different opinions about same-day registration, though. They didn't see it as a burden, and they think that Walker shouldn't eliminate it.
Lanore Rusch is 75 and took offense to Walker's insinuation that retirees can't handle the task of being a poll worker. "We aren't overworked... For Walker to say that the people who are doing the registration can't keep up is just foolish. He should come down and watch once in awhile." Lanore's son, Kevin Rusch, was a little less politically correct in his responce to Walker's proposal. He merely called it utter bullshit.
Same-day registration has been in place in Wisconsin since 1976, and as I read The Huffington Post's article on the matter I couldn't help but wonder if Walker's proposal (which is supported by Wisconsin's incoming Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, by the way) is only being put forth in hopes of decreasing the number of democratic votes in the state.
As I read on, Heather Diehl Reames (a poll worker from Madison) confirmed my thoughts about Walker's motives. "All they're trying to do by getting rid of same-day registration is get rid of minority and lower-income and basically Democratic votes. It strikes me as almost a poll tax."
Does Walker really think that he can fool Wisconsin citizens by saying that his proposal is solely meant to lighten the burden on "overworked" officials on Election Day? The whole thing seems pretty transparent to me, and I must admit that I'd be pretty disappointed in anyone who fell for that facade.
How Gilmore Girls Led Me to Christiane Amanpour
I discovered Christiane Amanpour long before I realized that I wanted to be a journalist. In fact, the first time I heard her name was not while she was interviewing a world leader or anchoring a news program. My first exposure of Amanpour didn't have anything to do with the news at all. Instead, I was introduced to her through Gilmore Girls, an American comedy-drama that my friends and I have been obsessed with for years.
Today, Amanpour is the Chief International Correspondent for CNN, host of CNN International's nightly interview program called Amanpour, and she's also a Global Affairs Anchor of ABC News. While this may not be noteworthy to some, I find it exciting (and certainly worth mentioning) that she studies journalism at the University of Rhode Island and worked for WBRU-FM in Providence, Rhode Island (and later NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence) while she was there. She graduated from URI summa cum laude with a B.A. in journalism. Why is this so thrilling? I'm from Bristol, Rhode Island. Being the smallest state, we're not usually the home (even temporary home) or celebrities.
Christiane Amanpour is a well-respected international correspondent who keeps our nation informed on a wide variety of controversial topics ranging anywhere from war in the Middle East to natural disasters. What makes her unique and sets her apart from all of her fellow journalists is her eager willingness to insert herself in the middle of a war-zone so she can show the public what's really going on instead of what other media sources want us to believe.
Amanpour walked with Srebrenica victims during the Bosnian crisis in Sarajevo. She broadcasted her show, Amanpour, from Port-au-Princein only a few short days after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. When everyone else was interviewing Charlie Sheen about his dubious entirely obscene behavior, she was interviewing Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. She's discussed growing authoritarianism with Paul Kagame, the war in Afghanistan with Nancy Pelosi, the aftermath of the Soviet Collapse with Michael Gorbachev. Most famously, however, is probably her heated phone interview with Yasser Arafat (who was a Palestinian leader) as his compound was being attacked.
And still, even after that rather lengthy laundry list of incomparable, essential displays of journalistic brilliance, Amanpour's accomplishments and noteworthy moments don't end there. But I digress.
The bottom line here is that had it not been for the life experiences and witty repartee of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, I may never have come to realize how magnificent Christiane Amanpour is.
Rory Gilmore: I want to go to Harvard and study journalism and political science.
 |
| Christiane Amanpour with the stars of Gilmore Girls |
Headmaster Charleston: On your way to being...?
Rory: Christiane Amanpour.
Headmaster: Really? Not Cokie Roberts?
Rory: No.
HeadmasterL Not Oprah, Rosie, or one of the women from The View?
Rory: No.Even though the majority of viewers were teenage girls who most likely had no idea who Christiane Amanpour was at the time, the brief conversation that Rory had with Headmaster Charleston in this episode let the show's audience know that Amanpour is a genuine, hard-hitting journalist, not the host of some talk show who's pretending to be a journalist. Amanpour continues to be an idol of Rory's throughout the entire series, and she even gets to meet her in the series finale (as pictured above).
Today, Amanpour is the Chief International Correspondent for CNN, host of CNN International's nightly interview program called Amanpour, and she's also a Global Affairs Anchor of ABC News. While this may not be noteworthy to some, I find it exciting (and certainly worth mentioning) that she studies journalism at the University of Rhode Island and worked for WBRU-FM in Providence, Rhode Island (and later NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence) while she was there. She graduated from URI summa cum laude with a B.A. in journalism. Why is this so thrilling? I'm from Bristol, Rhode Island. Being the smallest state, we're not usually the home (even temporary home) or celebrities.
Christiane Amanpour is a well-respected international correspondent who keeps our nation informed on a wide variety of controversial topics ranging anywhere from war in the Middle East to natural disasters. What makes her unique and sets her apart from all of her fellow journalists is her eager willingness to insert herself in the middle of a war-zone so she can show the public what's really going on instead of what other media sources want us to believe.
 |
| Amanpour with President Hosni Mubarak |
And still, even after that rather lengthy laundry list of incomparable, essential displays of journalistic brilliance, Amanpour's accomplishments and noteworthy moments don't end there. But I digress.
The bottom line here is that had it not been for the life experiences and witty repartee of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, I may never have come to realize how magnificent Christiane Amanpour is.
Ten Days in a Mad-House (I Love Nellie Bly)
Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, more fondly known as Nellie Bly, is hands down one of my favorite journalists. Nellie was born on May 5, 1864, died on January 27, 1922, and remains noteworthy to this day for two main reasons: she partook in a whirlwind trip around the word in emulation of Phileas Fogg (the fictional hero of "Around the World in Eighty Days), and she feigned insanity so she would be institutionalized and could investigate the terrible treatment that patients at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island.
While her record breaking trip around the world is certainly exceptional, it's Nellie Bly's time in an asylum that makes her such an important person in my mind. In a time and place in which men ruled the world of journalism, Bly convinced Joseph Pulitzer to five her an undercover for New York World. She practiced deranged expressions and unstable behavior in front of a mirror and then checked herself into a working-class boardinghouse where she was very quickly deemed crazy and taken into police custody. After pretending to have amnesia in court, she was examined by doctors who all declared that she was positively demented.
A passage from her book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, reads: "In spite of . . . the assurance that I would be released in a few days, my heart gave a sharp twinge. Pronounced insane by four expert doctors and shut up behind the unmerciful bolts of a madhouse . . . was an uncomfortable position."
The horrible conditions of the asylum included gruel broth, spoiled meat, something masquerading as break and dirty water. Patients who were considered to be unsafe were tethered together with ropes, patients were forced to sit in cold conditions for the majority of the day, the ratio of rats to patients in the institution was far too high for comfort and the nurses were abusive. She held the belief that in reality, many patients were just as sane as she was, but the brutality and neglect shown to them by their "care givers" was enough to make them certifiably nuts.
She was released from the asylum after ten days, and her revealing report of the asylum brought her instant fame. A grand jury decided to conduct an official investigation of the institution, and Bly was invited to assist them.
I suppose the reason that I cling so strongly to Nellie Bly and her undercover investigation of an insane asylum is because it hits close to home. I live with several mental illnesses, learning disorder, and chronic illnesses. My doctors had yet to find the right combination of medications when I was sixteen and newly diagnosed, and I ended up going a wee bit (totally) crazy and becoming a danger to myself and those around me. I was admitted to Bradley Hospital. Professionals describe it as an institution for children and adolescents with mental health problems; everyone else calls it a looney-bin. Collectively, I spent two months of my life in-patient and over three months in an out-patient program at Bradley.
I'm a little bit in love with Nellie Bly for going to a place that most people avoid.
(Fun fact that I found online: She originally intended her pen name to be Nelly Bly, but her editor wrote Nellie by mistake, and the error stuck!)
While her record breaking trip around the world is certainly exceptional, it's Nellie Bly's time in an asylum that makes her such an important person in my mind. In a time and place in which men ruled the world of journalism, Bly convinced Joseph Pulitzer to five her an undercover for New York World. She practiced deranged expressions and unstable behavior in front of a mirror and then checked herself into a working-class boardinghouse where she was very quickly deemed crazy and taken into police custody. After pretending to have amnesia in court, she was examined by doctors who all declared that she was positively demented.
A passage from her book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, reads: "In spite of . . . the assurance that I would be released in a few days, my heart gave a sharp twinge. Pronounced insane by four expert doctors and shut up behind the unmerciful bolts of a madhouse . . . was an uncomfortable position."
The horrible conditions of the asylum included gruel broth, spoiled meat, something masquerading as break and dirty water. Patients who were considered to be unsafe were tethered together with ropes, patients were forced to sit in cold conditions for the majority of the day, the ratio of rats to patients in the institution was far too high for comfort and the nurses were abusive. She held the belief that in reality, many patients were just as sane as she was, but the brutality and neglect shown to them by their "care givers" was enough to make them certifiably nuts.
She was released from the asylum after ten days, and her revealing report of the asylum brought her instant fame. A grand jury decided to conduct an official investigation of the institution, and Bly was invited to assist them.
I suppose the reason that I cling so strongly to Nellie Bly and her undercover investigation of an insane asylum is because it hits close to home. I live with several mental illnesses, learning disorder, and chronic illnesses. My doctors had yet to find the right combination of medications when I was sixteen and newly diagnosed, and I ended up going a wee bit (totally) crazy and becoming a danger to myself and those around me. I was admitted to Bradley Hospital. Professionals describe it as an institution for children and adolescents with mental health problems; everyone else calls it a looney-bin. Collectively, I spent two months of my life in-patient and over three months in an out-patient program at Bradley.
I'm a little bit in love with Nellie Bly for going to a place that most people avoid.
(Fun fact that I found online: She originally intended her pen name to be Nelly Bly, but her editor wrote Nellie by mistake, and the error stuck!)
Comedic Journalism
When the news gets me down and it seems as though the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, a little satire can be the key.
Jon Stewart describes The Daily Show, his pride and joy, as fake news... but is that really what it is? The show draws its satire and humor from recent headlines, political mishaps, and news around the world. The writers of The Daily Show openly reject the notion that it's a source of news for young people. It does, in fact, provide its audience with information about the ongoings of our nation and the world as a whole. Still, even Stewart argues that it's not actual news.
All of this time I thought that these shows were less satire and more comedic journalism that actually qualified as news, but I guess I was wrong. As sad as I am to admit this, I guess fake news only makes sense if you pay attention to the real news.
Jon Stewart describes The Daily Show, his pride and joy, as fake news... but is that really what it is? The show draws its satire and humor from recent headlines, political mishaps, and news around the world. The writers of The Daily Show openly reject the notion that it's a source of news for young people. It does, in fact, provide its audience with information about the ongoings of our nation and the world as a whole. Still, even Stewart argues that it's not actual news.
"Our show would not be valuable to people who didn't understand the news because it wouldn't make sense. We make assumptions about your level of knowledge that... if we were your only source of news, you would just watch our show and think, 'I don't know what's happening.'"Out of curiosity, I asked my sister (Ashley) to watch The Daily Show the other night. Ash has never shown any interest in the news, so I knew that it would be safe to test Stewart's theory on her. As he predicted, she had absolutely no idea what was going on. When I sat her down in front of Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report (which is said to be even less of a news source than The Daily Show), she was even more confused.
All of this time I thought that these shows were less satire and more comedic journalism that actually qualified as news, but I guess I was wrong. As sad as I am to admit this, I guess fake news only makes sense if you pay attention to the real news.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Tweet 2
Moments after it was discovered that the shark spotted by
civilians was a prank created by two children, a real shark was spotted in the
pond next to the beach. James Parks of Oak Bluffs became the third victim of a
shark attack when his rowboat was attacked and he was killed at about 1:30 p.m.
Other than a severed leg, his remains have not been found. Chief Brody’s son
was also on the rowboat at the time of the attack, but he remained unharmed
other than going into severe shock, which he is now being treated for. All beaches will remain closed until further notice.
Tweet 1
As hesitant civilians and tourists entered the water at a
beach in Amity and began to feel at ease, swimmers spotted a shark. Panic ensued
and the water was cleared, but the shark ended up being a cardboard fin made by
two children.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Are cleats replacing skates?
Now that Major League Soccer has had its most successful season ever and the National Hockey League enters month number three of its lockout, sports writers and fans throughout the U.S. and Canada weigh in on whether or not soccer is threatening the NHL.
Steven Simmons at the Toronto Sun wrote that the plan to popularize MLS never really came to fruition. He asked eight or nine people who make their living in sports if they knew who Chris Wondolowski was, and none could really give him an answer. A few guessed that he was a soccer player, but weren't confident and couldn't say any more about him. Simmons's point is that if those who make a living in sports can't even identify the soccer player who has 50% more goals than any other player, who can? To him, soccer can't possibly be that popular and is certainly no threat to hockey, but not everyone sees it that way.
Bill Saporito at TIME happens to think that soccer could very well be replacing hockey. This year, the MLS broke their previous attendance records and averaged about 19,000 fans per game and 114 sellouts. Saporito wrote that the addition of new international talents to the league (such as Robbie Keane and Thierry Henry) upped the level of play and made the sport more attractive to fans. Even though long time fan favorite David Beckham played his last game on Saturday, Saporito feels that the league is strong enough to remain popular even after he's gone.
I asked several of my friends what they thought about this newfound competition between hockey and soccer, and their opinions correlated with their sport of choice. Kassandra Sampson said that soccer could never replace hockey and that hockey fans will remain faithful to their sport no matter how long this ridiculous lockout lasts. Tim Bucker, whose love soccer is borderline unhealthy, thinks that soccer is the new hockey and was very excited that it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Shakeeb Ahmed said, "Soccer threatening the NHL? Good one." That really comes as no surprise, though. Shakeeb lives in Toronto and plays both field hockey and ice hockey.
So, which sport will win? Soccer or hockey? I suppose I'll just have to keep checking the sports sections to find out.
Steven Simmons at the Toronto Sun wrote that the plan to popularize MLS never really came to fruition. He asked eight or nine people who make their living in sports if they knew who Chris Wondolowski was, and none could really give him an answer. A few guessed that he was a soccer player, but weren't confident and couldn't say any more about him. Simmons's point is that if those who make a living in sports can't even identify the soccer player who has 50% more goals than any other player, who can? To him, soccer can't possibly be that popular and is certainly no threat to hockey, but not everyone sees it that way.
Bill Saporito at TIME happens to think that soccer could very well be replacing hockey. This year, the MLS broke their previous attendance records and averaged about 19,000 fans per game and 114 sellouts. Saporito wrote that the addition of new international talents to the league (such as Robbie Keane and Thierry Henry) upped the level of play and made the sport more attractive to fans. Even though long time fan favorite David Beckham played his last game on Saturday, Saporito feels that the league is strong enough to remain popular even after he's gone.
I asked several of my friends what they thought about this newfound competition between hockey and soccer, and their opinions correlated with their sport of choice. Kassandra Sampson said that soccer could never replace hockey and that hockey fans will remain faithful to their sport no matter how long this ridiculous lockout lasts. Tim Bucker, whose love soccer is borderline unhealthy, thinks that soccer is the new hockey and was very excited that it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Shakeeb Ahmed said, "Soccer threatening the NHL? Good one." That really comes as no surprise, though. Shakeeb lives in Toronto and plays both field hockey and ice hockey.
So, which sport will win? Soccer or hockey? I suppose I'll just have to keep checking the sports sections to find out.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
A world without war: can you picture it?
Despite the drug war in Mexico, conflict in the Gaza Strip and crisis in eastern Congo, global conflicts have been decreasing for the last half-century. Every fourth country was involved in an armed conflict in 1992, but by 2009, that number dropped to every sixth country.
In an article called A Future Without War? It's More Likely than You Think published by TIME, it's reported that a group of researchers in Norway predict the trend towards peace to continue in the future.
While the optimism of this article is exciting, I'm not sure that I really believe it. When I turn on the news or pick up the paper and learn about all of the disaster and strife going on in the world, I'm overcome by pessimism. It doesn't seem to me that we're heading towards peace, but I guess that's because I haven't lived through a time any worse than the one we're currently going through.
I suppose I'll just have to wait to 2050 to see if Hegre and his colleagues are right.
In an article called A Future Without War? It's More Likely than You Think published by TIME, it's reported that a group of researchers in Norway predict the trend towards peace to continue in the future.
"In a paper soon to be published in International Studies Quarterly, Håvard Hegre, a professor of political science at the University of Oslo, claims that the number of ongoing conflicts will be halved by 2050 - with the greatest decrease coming in the Middle East."Hegre and his colleagues at the Peace Research Institute Oslo put together a model that they ran in the conflict stimulation program 18,000 times before stating a conclusion. The model included youth population, education, infant mortality, ethnic make-up and conflict history. While the results showed us moving towards peace, it isn't all good news.
"Between now and 2017, India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Uganda and Burma will all be at greatest risk of internal conflict. By 2050 that list will narrow down to India, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia and Tanzania."Conclusions also showed that all continents should expect a decline in the risk of conflict other than sub-Saharan Africa. All that's missing from the study is consideration of existing political conditions within a country.
While the optimism of this article is exciting, I'm not sure that I really believe it. When I turn on the news or pick up the paper and learn about all of the disaster and strife going on in the world, I'm overcome by pessimism. It doesn't seem to me that we're heading towards peace, but I guess that's because I haven't lived through a time any worse than the one we're currently going through.
I suppose I'll just have to wait to 2050 to see if Hegre and his colleagues are right.
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