Blog*

=Freakonomics= Quarter 1

[][|/] The Prom Effect? September 23, 2009, 9:39 AM

Is it really true that people who are born in winter months have poor education and health? If so, why is it that 16 out our 43 presidents were born in winter months? Is it a coincidence? Or does the month of birth have nothing to do with the health condition and intelligence? Women who concieve in Springs months (March, April, May) which has St. Patricks Day, Spring Break, and Prom, say that they are less educated because of this "effect". I don't think that the month that a child is born in is any where near relevant to their intelligence. This article doesn't really provide a lot of sufficient information that proves that the "Prom Effect" labels children that are born in winter months as "poorly educated".

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/looking-to-blog-readers-for-good-ideas-to-reduce-teen-shootings/ Looking to Blog Readers for Good Ideas to Reduce Teen Shootings

This article adresses the issue of teen violence and how we can prevent it. The media has a huge impact on how teenagers act and what they do. A lot of rappers or singers act as role models for these young adults. If rappers are rapping about guns and violence, that is what these kids will follow. Guns and other harmful resources are easily accessible, which lead to a higher percentage of violence and teen shootings. This is not just an information article, it is a call for help to alleviate the huge amount of teen shootings.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/tweeting-teachers/ Tweeting Teachers

Researches say using Power Point in the classroom is only used for lazy teachers who use the Power Point as an easy way of teaching their class. It is very boring and not engaging for the students. Some teachers twitter with their students, but it seems to be an easier way to get around using "face to face interactions" with their students. Is this a problem? Or is it just simply a way of sending announcements to the students? Has e-mail become such an unreliable source that teachers need to find another way to directly contact their students?

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/the-true-cause-of-college-tuition-inflation/ The True Cause of College-Tuition Inflation?

College tuition prices have rose rapidly in the past decade. With the economy in a recession, even SUNY schools are becoming harder to get accepted into. A lot of families are not being able to pay for the high tuition costs of Ivy League schools, so a lot more people are applying for cheaper schools like SUNY. But the real question is, why are the raising the price when so many people cannot afford to pay for these schools? Researchers say that the growth of college staffs and new jobs have highly increased, along with student luxuries (gyms, libraries, etc.) causing the prices of these college to rise. Colleges never seemed to believe that their "consumers" would change direction away from these colleges. If people are willing to pay $40,000 a year for tuition, why not charge them? Today, its almost impossible to get a "real" job without a college degree, because of this parents are willing to pay as much as they need to ensure their children have a good degree and soon to be career.

**Quarter 2**
__http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/are-ritalin-taking-students-cheaters/__ Are Ritalin- Taking Students Cheaters?

Athletes who take steroids to enhance their game performance are frowned upon. How is this any different than a student taking Ritalin to help them concentrate on taking a test? Is it fair for every other student who is not using drugs to boost their grade? A staggering twenty five percent of college students are using memory enhancement drugs to help increase their grades. Some people do not believe these cognitive drugs are ways of cheating. But this drug is not only being used by college students, but by their professors as well. Although, coffee has been proven to be the most popular drug usage by professors, some have turned to a more cognitive embellishment. Researchers say in the future students may need to take urine tests before sitting for an exam. This ensures that each and every student will have a fair assessment of their knowledge.

http://www.edutopia.org/autism-school-special-needs Educators deal with the growing problems of Autism

This article discuses how autism is seemingly a problem in schools because the budget is no where near enough to support autistic children. Of course the parents are going to expect intensive care for their children because of their disabilities. But, I think we are doing a horrible job of following the law of a free and "appropriate" education to everyone. The government is not fully funding programs for special education children. 1 in every 150 children have been diagnosed with autism, and if it is not treated it can be disastrous. There is no excuse for why these children are not getting the education they deserve, ABA (applied behavioral analysis) should be available to all children with special needs.  Quantifying teacher effectiveness http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/quantifying-teacher-effectiveness/

This article talks about how the TFA helps students in low income areas by putting recent college graduates there to teach for two years. These have been proven to be significantly effective in becoming leaders and advocates. What most people may not know about the TFA is they have tracked what makes a great teacher (ex. setting high expectations, involving community and parents, staying focuses, planning ahead) I think all of these qualities reflect on a good teacher. The TFA is "secretly" aimed to improve teacher quality. "This is the big bang of teacher-effectiveness reform".

Quarter 3: NY Times
Fishes gotta swim, Teachers gotta cheat? http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/fish-gotta-swim-teachers-gotta-cheat/

This article talks about how cheating has almost become human nature. Not only do students cheat, but the teachers as well. Teachers are being pressured by Principals in their schools to cheat or they are helping their students higher their grades to keep their jobs. I know that in my school, teachers are helping students with answers on their Regents or tests, so they won't have to leave as many students behind. I think they are doing this because it makes the teachers look better, if the school board sees that more students are passing, it looks as if they are "better teachers". I feel that this is taking away from the art of teaching. A teacher should not be pressuring their students to pass the test for their own well-being, if a lot of students are failing their tests- they are doing something wrong and they should lose their job. It is shocking to me that teachers-people who really want others to learn and benefit from their teaching, would do something so selfish, despite other students hard work and dedication.

The truth about College Plagiarism http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/the-truth-about-college-plagiarism/

In this article, an experiment was conducted on student plagiarism. The desired result was to determine the factors of plagiarism. Some students were required to write a anti-plagiarism tutorial before their papers were handed in. Studies showed that the students who wrote a tutorial were less likely to plagiarize because they were fully aware of plagiarism. This result was specifically distinct for students who had low SAT scores. I think the students usually fall into the catagory are below average and tend to plagiarize more because of their lack of determination, or low academics. But, more commonly a lot of students accidentally plagiarize which has nothing to do with their SAT scores. I know there has been times when I accidently plagiarized because I did not cite my sources correctly. Plagiarizing has nothing to do with my SAT scores, or how intelligent I am at all, at least thats what I believe. Its a common mistake that happens to almost all high school students. Plagiarizing is a serious matter, so I think students need to be extremely careful when citing or writing papers.

A Federal Effort to Push Junk Food out of Schools http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/health/nutrition/08junk.html?ref=education

This article talks about the Obama administrations attempt to reduce unhealthy, junk food out of schools. In Module 3, we discussed the societal problem of obesity and how we could change it. Removing junk food from the schools was the most feasible, and effective alternative. When Mahopac High School reduced unhealthy food last year (french fries, etc) and replaced them with healthy sandwiches, a lot of students have begun to eat more healthier. I don't think any school should have Pepsi machines, or any other sodas. With all of the other negative influences coming from school and peers, I think they should at least provide healthy food, instead of promoting malnutrition. Also, most parents do not want their children eating bad, unhealthy food at home. When students go to school, it is like an escape where they can eat all the junk food they want without anyone stopping them. This is a major problem in our schools and it should be addressed nationally.

Pass the Squishy http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/education/07foster.html?ref=education

"The Squishy" is used in some charter schools as a stress reliever for younger children. Similar to the stress ball that some adults may use as a form of relieving stress. I think this idea helps a lot of children who are really angry and are bound to have a temper tantrum, instead of lashing out they squeeze this ball (commonly used in special education). Although, I think there is some issues with the "squishy" because at a young age, I believe children should be taught to express anger verbally, and expressing their feelings. If a child is always taught to squeeze something when he/she is angry, it could lead to further problems. That child needs to know it is not best to take out your anger on objects, moreover, to express your feeling sin a calmly manner. Breaking this habit in a child may become very difficult once he/she has reacher upper elementary ages, or even elementary school.

High Schools to offer plan to graduate 2 years early __@http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/education/18educ.html?ref=education__ In this article, a program was designed for tenth graders to take a series of tests to graduate two years early and to go to a community college, or take college classes in their junior and senior years in high school. I do not believe two years of high school is suffiecent enough for a student to go on to college. Students who are in tenth grade don't even have a liscense and are barely 16, theres no reason why students should be given the opportunity to skip half of high school to go onto college. Although, this may be suitable for students who are very intelligent, but I believe their is honors and AP classes for students like those. A early admission to college may be okay for students in their senior year, but in my opinion sophomore students are way too young.

In Middle School, charting their course to college and beyond http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/education/01schools.html?ref=education

Students from Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick, N.J have recently been charting their own academic path with personalized student learning plans which will then be carried out into high school. I think this is such a great idea, because students should begin to learn what they want to do with their life at a young age. If they begin to plan out their goals and interests now, by high school they will be positive about what classes to enroll and take, which will make students a lot more motivated to go to school to learn about what they want to do in life. I remember when I was in middle school we had "career day", but it really was not too resourceful because most students used it as an escape from normal school where they can sit back and relax. I think if our school adopted some type of program like this, students will be more likely to pursue desired careers and it will increase graduation rates.