Thursday, March 22, 2007
Thursday's Comments
Once my interview story is corrected, I'll repost it. Today, I began my interviews in the College of Education at Cal-State Long Beach. I interviewed Judy Walker from the Education Career Services office. I learned some neat things, which I'll share in the days to come.
Classmate Interview
This assignment showed me how it is to work under the pressure of a deadline. Our task was to interview a fellow classmate and compose a decent story based on information collected. In about an hour and a half, I did it. Looking back, I liked doing it. It's something that I'll have to get used to if I truly want to pursue a career in reporting. Here it is.
One talented artist
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter
LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 12, 2007) -- Sarah Al-Mullah is a junior journalism major at Cal-State Long Beach. She’s also an artist. Her artistic hobbies include photography, playing the guitar and piano and creating wax sculptures.
Al-Mullah, who was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has lived in Southern California for the past 10 years. Going to the beach with her family is one of her fondest memories of Dubai. She laments the privatization of certain beaches which has restricted where ordinary people can go to have a good time.
Since graduating from high school in 2003, she has studied film, studio art, and record production at UC Irvine and two other local community colleges. She transferred to Cal-State Long Beach this last fall.
This upcoming weekend, she will be auctioning off some of her photographic work at a silent auction. In April, she will be playing piano at a fund raiser for a local women’s shelter in Long Beach. This fall, she and a fellow artist are planning to have an art show exhibiting their wax sculptures.
On the piano, she plays contemporary classical music. She can play many genres on the guitar including rock and Spanish guitar. She has recorded two CDs of her musical compositions.
Just in case a scene good enough to photograph comes across her path, she likes to carry a digital camera. As with her music, she does not like to alter her photographic work.
“I don’t really like editing my photos,” she said. “I mean, I might you know, change the lighting just a little bit on the computer, but other than that, I think it defeats the purpose of the whole idea behind taking pictures.”
She is considering joining the Peace Corps after graduation. She would like to go to Africa, in particular Morocco. She has taken French in school. She can also read and write Arabic although has a limited speaking ability.
She has a positive outlook regarding her future. She hopes to one day live in France or Italy creating works of art for the public’s enjoyment. She is focused on improving her writing as well as artistic skills so that one day, her dream of living an artist’s life is realized.
“It’s, I guess, up to me now to make sure I carry it through and do the best that I can and train as much as possible to ensure, you know, the most success that I possibly can,” she said of her current status.
She appeared very pleased that her involvement in many extracurricular activities are allowing her to demonstrate her talent to the world.
One talented artist
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter
LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 12, 2007) -- Sarah Al-Mullah is a junior journalism major at Cal-State Long Beach. She’s also an artist. Her artistic hobbies include photography, playing the guitar and piano and creating wax sculptures.
Al-Mullah, who was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has lived in Southern California for the past 10 years. Going to the beach with her family is one of her fondest memories of Dubai. She laments the privatization of certain beaches which has restricted where ordinary people can go to have a good time.
Since graduating from high school in 2003, she has studied film, studio art, and record production at UC Irvine and two other local community colleges. She transferred to Cal-State Long Beach this last fall.
This upcoming weekend, she will be auctioning off some of her photographic work at a silent auction. In April, she will be playing piano at a fund raiser for a local women’s shelter in Long Beach. This fall, she and a fellow artist are planning to have an art show exhibiting their wax sculptures.
On the piano, she plays contemporary classical music. She can play many genres on the guitar including rock and Spanish guitar. She has recorded two CDs of her musical compositions.
Just in case a scene good enough to photograph comes across her path, she likes to carry a digital camera. As with her music, she does not like to alter her photographic work.
“I don’t really like editing my photos,” she said. “I mean, I might you know, change the lighting just a little bit on the computer, but other than that, I think it defeats the purpose of the whole idea behind taking pictures.”
She is considering joining the Peace Corps after graduation. She would like to go to Africa, in particular Morocco. She has taken French in school. She can also read and write Arabic although has a limited speaking ability.
She has a positive outlook regarding her future. She hopes to one day live in France or Italy creating works of art for the public’s enjoyment. She is focused on improving her writing as well as artistic skills so that one day, her dream of living an artist’s life is realized.
“It’s, I guess, up to me now to make sure I carry it through and do the best that I can and train as much as possible to ensure, you know, the most success that I possibly can,” she said of her current status.
She appeared very pleased that her involvement in many extracurricular activities are allowing her to demonstrate her talent to the world.
The University Experience
Hello. The previous story had some commentary along with it. What follows is based only on facts I have gathered. Enjoy!
Issues of the university experience
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter
LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 5, 2007) -- An academic search through the Cal-State Long Beach library has identified tuition, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduate rate as important issues in public universities in the United States.
At the University of Virginia, tuition plus room and board for an in-state student for four years amounts to $68,000. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, tuition at a public four-year university has risen 42 percent in the last 10 years.
Grade inflation was addressed by the regents of the University of Colorado. Last fall, they opted to allow a student’s ranking to be posted to transcripts of those students who requested the information. It is believed that this is a better indicator of student performance as opposed to grades.
In Arizona, analysts at the Goldwater Institute published a report that accused the University of Arizona of giving courses with a more global, multicultural perspective greater weight in general education requirements.
Professor pay is another controversial topic. There is a divide between those who think that professors are being paid too much when benefits such as bonuses and incentives are factored into their pay. On the other hand, the California State University Faculty Union may strike for better pay. They feel that professors are not being paid what others in comparable universities are paid.
In an Internet-broadcast speech last September, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said that education in the country had slipped behind global competition. She identified access to college and sustained graduation rates as vital to the nations higher education system.
Issues of the university experience
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter
LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 5, 2007) -- An academic search through the Cal-State Long Beach library has identified tuition, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduate rate as important issues in public universities in the United States.
At the University of Virginia, tuition plus room and board for an in-state student for four years amounts to $68,000. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, tuition at a public four-year university has risen 42 percent in the last 10 years.
Grade inflation was addressed by the regents of the University of Colorado. Last fall, they opted to allow a student’s ranking to be posted to transcripts of those students who requested the information. It is believed that this is a better indicator of student performance as opposed to grades.
In Arizona, analysts at the Goldwater Institute published a report that accused the University of Arizona of giving courses with a more global, multicultural perspective greater weight in general education requirements.
Professor pay is another controversial topic. There is a divide between those who think that professors are being paid too much when benefits such as bonuses and incentives are factored into their pay. On the other hand, the California State University Faculty Union may strike for better pay. They feel that professors are not being paid what others in comparable universities are paid.
In an Internet-broadcast speech last September, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said that education in the country had slipped behind global competition. She identified access to college and sustained graduation rates as vital to the nations higher education system.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Five issues in public universities
I have identified five issues of importance on public universities in the United States. It took time, but I have results. The five issues are: the rising cost of college, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduation rate. Below are brief descriptions of each. Of course, more information is to follow in the coming days.
The price of college tuition keeps on rising. Analysts have information indicating that the cost of tuition has risen much faster than inflation. A recent study said that students are not attending their first-choice colleges because of this. Some families have a hard time paying for college and rely on scholarships. It is a problem that needs to be fixed so that students can get the education they need in order to compete in this globalized society.
Grade inflation is an issue that also needs to be addressed. Some universities are giving out a disproportionate number of As and Bs which puts C-average students near the bottom of rankings. This needs reform because a C grade is supposed to be a middle-of-the-road grade, not a grade signifying poor work.
There are some who criticize some policies which give more priority to global views rather than teach the history of the United States and Western thought. At this point, it is unclear how big of an issue this is, but it is worth exploring in order to see what best satisfies educational needs. The topic is especially relevant to general education issues.
Professor pay seems to be a hotly debated issue. Some say that professors are paid too much while others think the opposite. It greatly varies from state to state.
What is more clear is that more and more jobs are requiring college degrees. The education department has estimated that 90 percent of new jobs will require at least a Bachelors’ degree. This means that access to college, and just as important, graduation from college are two important issues. Graduation rates are low in some colleges. Closer examination is needed to see what the problems are.
The price of college tuition keeps on rising. Analysts have information indicating that the cost of tuition has risen much faster than inflation. A recent study said that students are not attending their first-choice colleges because of this. Some families have a hard time paying for college and rely on scholarships. It is a problem that needs to be fixed so that students can get the education they need in order to compete in this globalized society.
Grade inflation is an issue that also needs to be addressed. Some universities are giving out a disproportionate number of As and Bs which puts C-average students near the bottom of rankings. This needs reform because a C grade is supposed to be a middle-of-the-road grade, not a grade signifying poor work.
There are some who criticize some policies which give more priority to global views rather than teach the history of the United States and Western thought. At this point, it is unclear how big of an issue this is, but it is worth exploring in order to see what best satisfies educational needs. The topic is especially relevant to general education issues.
Professor pay seems to be a hotly debated issue. Some say that professors are paid too much while others think the opposite. It greatly varies from state to state.
What is more clear is that more and more jobs are requiring college degrees. The education department has estimated that 90 percent of new jobs will require at least a Bachelors’ degree. This means that access to college, and just as important, graduation from college are two important issues. Graduation rates are low in some colleges. Closer examination is needed to see what the problems are.
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