Washington D.C. and Tenure

Image courtesy of CNN, School of Thoughts

Recently my parents and I got talking about tenure and the not-so-recent-but-still-relevant Washington D.C. bill. As far as I'm concerned, the creator of this bill is a genius. I don't know all the ins and outs of the bill, but from what I understand it gives teachers two career paths: a lower salary and tenure or a much higher salary (based on student performance) and no tenure. Tenure basically makes it impossible to fire a teacher unless they either sexually abuse multiple students turn into Jack the Ripper. Both of those are high unlikely, making it, like I said, almost impossible to fire a tenured teacher.

Tenure is an issue for two reasons: first, because it makes teachers on tenure feel like they can get away with anything, and secondly, because it means that when budgets get cut, tenured teachers are kept around, and better teachers are cut. Case in point: one of my favorite teachers this year is fairly new. (S)he teaches us a lot, and is decently nice. However, if it came down to it s(he) would get fired before another teacher who has a history of verbal abuse with students. The only reason for this is tenure. 

Another case in point: a couple years ago I had a teacher who wore very inappropriate clothing to  school. Every day she would come to school in mini skirts and low cut tops. Not only that, but she had a poster up in her room about weight loss. Weight loss.  At the time I was fairly young, so didn’t pay much attention to it, but thinking back on it, that poster could’ve been bad for many young girls self esteem. I don’t know if it has since disappeared from her room, but I can’t believe that no one mentioned it earlier, and discussed it with her. 

I like the Washington D.C. proposal because it prevents teachers from striking by not getting rid of tenure completely, and solves the issue of teachers enot getting paid enough. Because honestly, fifty-thousand dollars a year is nothing for the job teachers have. Many bright intellectuals would love to become teachers, but avoid the job because it doesn’t pay as much as it should. 

Anyways, those are just my thoughts on the topic. Feel free to sound off in the comments! 

Read more:

Washington DC bill

Is Teacher Tenure Still Necessary?

Books!

As I'm sure I've said before, I've loved books ever since I was a little girl. I haven't done a full post on my favorite books yet, so I figured I might as well do one today. 

The Grisha Trilogy 

Image courtesy of Alexa Loves Books

I love how creepy cool these books are. You never know if a character is good or bad, even the main character (Alina). The basic summary of these books are that there are people with magical powers called Grisha. There are a couple types of Grisha, each with different abilities. Alina, however, is special because she's a Sun Summoner, the only one who can get rid of a horrible area called the Fold that's been separating the kingdom for years. Of course, things don't go as planned, and Alina deals with some evil people. 

The Princess in the Opal Mask 

Image courtesy of Mundie Kids

This was the last book I read in 2013, and it was one of my favorites. The story is very cute, and although it's not worthy of a Book Oscar (is there such a thing?), it does make for a really fun read. The book follows two girls, Elara and Princess Wilha. While Elara is a orphaned servant, Princess Wilha is born into royalty. However, Princess Wilha is always forced to wear a mask, and many whisper it's due to her unbearable ugliness, which she can't see when she looks in the mirror. I can't say too much without giving it away, but there's lots of mystery, political intrigue, and fancy masks. 

The Lunar Chronicles 

Image courtesy of Laurdes

The best way to describe these books is futuristic fairy tales. The series follows the story of Cinder, a cyborg living in New Beijing. In New Beijing, and all over the planet, there has been an outbreak of letumosis, a disease no one has survived. While this horrible disease is going on, Earthen leaders (who work together) have been trying to stop war against the Lunars, and their horrible queen Levana. Each book focuses on a new heroine, while still focusing on Cinder's story. The next book is due out winter of 2015. 

I hope you enjoyed learning about my favorite books, and hopefully, you'll decide to read one yourself!

* Links (on titles) go to author websites! 

Growing Up

As most of you know, I grew up in a small rural town called Hong Kong (population: 7,000,000). I left fairly young, but I've still managed to remember a lot about the experience. So here I am, finally writing a post about it. I figure the best way to talk about this is in tidbits. Here it goes:

A Bit of Background
When I tell most people where I was born I usually get two responses: "Why you no look Asian?" and "Do yah speak China?". As far as the first question is concerned, I don't look Asian because my parents were Caucasian expats from England and Australia. So, as genetics would tell you, I came out looking Caucasian, not Asian. Although, my mum did once mistake an Asian baby for me, but that's another story. As far as the second question is concerned, no I don't speak Chinese. Since Hong Kong was a British colony until the end of the twentieth century, most people I grew up around spoke English, not Chinese, causing my inability to speak "China"

Me and my Filipino amah (nanny)

No Chinese In School
I attended two schools in Hong Kong: an Australian one (to satisfy dear old Dad) and a British one (to satisfy my proper tea-drinking mother). Because the British school wanted the Chinese students to learn English, they weren't allowed to speak Chinese. Although Hong Kong isn't Communist like the rest of China, this strikes me as a very Communist thing to do, and, not to sound patriotic, makes me appreciate the freedom of speech rights I have in America.

Me flying first class on Cathay Pacific, an HK airline my dad flys for

Banana Trees
While China seems to have a knack for eradicating nature, it's still apparent when you visit that it is a beautiful country. Growing up, I remember being surrounded by banana trees, roosters, and lush gardens. I also remember the beautiful cobblestone markets and the occasional breathtaking beach (although, if you plan on going to Hong Kong, don't plan it as a beach vacation. Most of the beaches are disgusting, as it is custom in China to throw all your trash, sewage, and shopping carts into the sea. Nothing against the Chinese, but most of urban China is like this.) Point is, China can be a beautiful place, if you know where to look.

Image courtesy of Garden of Eden

Pacific Place
Pacific Place: a giant mall filled with every store imagined. I consider it responsible for my existence, as my parents met in a taxi que outside of Pacific Place. Also, I consider the bookstore there responsible for my love of books, as I spent a lot of time there buying Rainbow Magic books.

Me kissing my baby brother

There you have it: a snapshot into my life in Hong Kong. My friend Liz also lived in Hong Kong when she was older, so if you want to see what it was like for her click  here. 

In Which I Give Some Advice on Doing Well in School

Image courtesy of Lily Pultizer

Tip One: Get a Planner

Honestly, I don't know where I would be without my beloved planner. It keeps track of all my information & community service hours, reminds me what tests I have and when, and lets me easily plan my extracurriculars. I use the Lily Pulitzer planners (pictured above), however, you don't need to buy a fancy planner in order to get the benefits. A simple one dollar notebook will do (just be sure to write dates on the pages!). 

Tip 2: Cram

You shouldn't be cramming every night (if you do, it's a bad habit, get rid of it). However, sometimes, cramming is necessary. If teachers are throwing multiple tests at you everyday, it's hard to study in advance for a test on Friday when you have one on Tuesday you need to study for. It's better to try and learn the material for Tuesday's test as best you can, and then move onto studying for Friday's test. 

Tip 3: Read, Read, Read

Image courtesy of Solidarity Rising Book Drive

I love, love, love, love (need I go on?) to read. It's my all time favorite hobby. However, reading isn't just a hobby, it's a learning tool. Not only will reading teach you to become a better writer, but it improves your memory and makes you smarter. Even better? You don't necessarily have to read non-fiction to get something out of the experience. Reading fiction gives you the exact same benefits. 

And if you don't know what to read, here are some of my favorites:

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (just started this- great nonfiction!)

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (cute fantasy for all ages)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (my favorite sci-fi)

Legend by Marie Lu ( good for boys & girls)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Anne Barrows and Mary Ann Schaffer (WWII book, good for adults and teens) 

These Broken Stars by Amy Kaufman and Megan Spooner (advertised as "Titanic in space") 

Tip 4: Ask Questions

Fine, maybe I ask a little too many questions, but I find it helps me learn. By having the teacher go in depth about concepts I don't understand, I'm able to better fully understand the material, and do better on the test. 

Tip 5: The Internet is Your Bestie

Image courtesy of CGP Grey

When I don't understand a concept and don't have time to go and talk to my teacher about it, I use Google as my teacher. YouTube especially has some great videos that explain most concepts for high school math, science, and history. My favorite channels are CGP Grey and Crash Course- I find they explain concepts better than most teachers! 

I hope you enjoyed these tips! I find them to be very helpful; however, don't feel the need to follow all of them. Find what works for you and stick with it. 

Find more tips here. 

A Look at the World's Best Education Systems

Image courtesy of NCEE

I've always been fascinated with the lives of people from around the globe. After seeing Time magazine's Hungry Planet, I thought it might be fun to do something similar. Today I will show you how education looks around the world.

Finland
Population: 5 million
GDP per capita: $46, 178

Image courtesy of In Stash

While the United States and China push their students overboard with grades, excess homework, and long hours, Finland has been working on devising an education that makes their kids smarter and happier. Recently ranked the best education system in the world, Finnish primary school students get seventy-five minutes of recess and very little homework. All Finnish teachers must complete a masters and are given the same status as doctors and lawyers. And they don't focus on following a national curriculum; teachers are allowed to teach the class as they see fit. Many people are now pushing for a similar program in the US, and you can see why.

South Korea
Population: 50 million
GDP per capita: $22,590

Image courtesy of Dalian News

Until Finland took away the first place prize, South Korea had the world's best education system, but for different reasons than Finland. The students work long hours and have little play time. While they manage to garner high results, it's at a cost. Recent reports show that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in South Korea. Many public officials are now starting to question the education system that has worked for them for so long.

Take Hye-Min Park as an example. She goes to school from 8am-4pm, heads home for a quick snack, and then attends a "hagwon" school from 6-9pm, followed by two hours of self-study. Although she says that she is very stressed, she believes this is the only option for her in order to achieve her goal of becoming a teacher. Her mother, while upset her daughter has to go through this, says that she supports her daughter's decision. After all, it's the only way to the top... for now.


Shanghai

Image courtesy of Beauty Lounge Denver

Population: 23 million
GDP per capita: 85,033

Shanghai and Korea both follow the "zombie" model for education: work hard, sleep little. In Shanghai, children attend public school for nine hours. Most everything they learn is factual and the education system allows little room for creativity. However, Shanghai was the top scorer on the international standardized test; meanwhile, the US lagged behind.


Interesting Videos/Articles
South Korea College Entrance Exams
The Four Million Dollar Teacher
South Korea Full Story
Interesting Facts About Finland's Education
Shanghai: Tests, Tests, Tests 
Note: I found most of my information in the links above, however, not all my sources are linked.

The Big Question

Recently I was assigned Assistive Reproductive Technology for a science projective. I've been researching it, and to my surprise, it's actually quite interesting. Some of the articles I've been reading raise interesting ethical questions, like, " Does everyone have the right to have biological children? If they do, should we pay for them to have those children?".  I started thinking about that question a lot, and because I'm me, I veered off topic a little bit. Suddenly the question turned into "What should the government pay for so that its citizens are happy?  Do we as a country have a responsibility for everyone to live a healthy and happy life?"

It would be nice to say that the answer is yes, but as usual, money and politics complicates things. For one, not everyone has the same idea of happiness. To some people happiness might involve everyone who wants an abortion to have one, but to others it might mean an abortion-less world. Also, if the government pays for everyone to receive free assistance with their reproductive issues, we could become entangled in a religious and ethnical issue. 

That said, I still believe that everyone has the right to free healthcare. Healthcare doesn't have to provide coverage for IVF, but it should at least cover yearly doctor's appointments, live-saving surgeries, etc. I understand that the right to free healthcare comes at a cost, however it's a cost that we're already paying for. Despite the fact that America doesn't provide free healthcare for its people, it spends more money than any other country on health care. 

Image courtesy of www.impactlab.net
Poor little fella doesn't understand it either

Think what you want to think, but I'm set in my opinion on this issue. I'm lucky enough that I have really good healthcare, however not everyone is. I don't believe that it is at all fair or right for someone to die because they can't pay for medical care.

Image courtesy of annarose.net.au
Everyone loves cute things

See how cute those penguins look, huddled for warmth, supporting each other? If only society could be like penguins. 

The article that sparked my idea for this post: Penn State: Probing Question

Happy Thanksgiving & Around the World With Photos

Happy Turkey Day!

I suppose by now most of you have figured out that I'm not really blogging about international politics. I'm just blogging about... well, I really don't know. Life? Random events? Poverty. 

Eh. Doesn't matter. 

Have a turkey: 

Image courtesy of  Earth911.com

Don't you think those little turkeys are adorable? I think it would be cute to do something like that for Christmas too, except with reindeer or elves.

Anyways, I didn't come here to write about turkeys. Instead I'm here to talk about things I'm grateful for. Whenever I can't get to sleep my mum always tells me to count my blessings. Last night, curled up in bed, I did just that. I came up with quite the list (okay, not really. I went to sleep after about two minutes). 

1. My brother

He might be really annoying, but sometimes he does the sweetest things. Take last night for example. We lay on his bed and read our books together (Nick's reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer and I'm reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell). When I proceded to leave to go finish my homework, he jumped off the bed and attached himself to my leg, making it almost impossible for me to leave. I love siblings. 

2. Books

Anyone who knows me knows that I love reading. Without books... I would be lost. Books are just amazing. They take you different places, they give you new experiences. With that said, some books are not just my cup of tea. Cough, the Outsiders, cough, cough. 

3. Smartphones
I don't know how I ever survived without my iPhone. I love using it to quickly Google things, read books, check the news, etc, etc. I know people believe that iPhone's are silly, but I think that in today's world, they are a necessity.

In other news, I thought that it would be fun to show you some of my favorite photos from around the world. I find that looking at these photos gives me a better world perspective (and no, none of them are not of starving Indian children).

Image courtesy of Vijugi
Beautiful German castle near Munich

Image courtesy of Telegraph
Beach in Australia, near where my Grandmother lives

Image courtesy of National Geographic
Afghan girl 

Image courtesy of Carhoots.com
Iceland in the wintertime 

There you have it! Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving week.