| In New Jersey, a Summer Jobs Program With a Bigger Purpose | |
| 19 August 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
The United States has lost almost seven million jobs since the recession began in December of two thousand seven. The good news: the central bank says economic activity appears to be "leveling out."
The bad news: no one knows when the job market will recover.
These days, if a job is available, young people often have to compete with more experienced workers. The situation is worst for those with the least education.
About thirty percent of workers age sixteen to twenty-four with less than a high school diploma were unemployed last month. That was more than three times the national unemployment rate. The Labor Department says even among high school graduates, twenty-one percent of those with no college were jobless.
 |
| Salvatore Mastroeni is the director of the One-Stop Career Center in Hackensack, New Jersey |
Counselors at the One-Stop Career Center in Hackensack have found jobs for a few hundred young people this summer.
The jobs are twenty hours a week through this month. The pay is seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour -- the federal minimum wage.
Those chosen must come from poor families and must also face at least one barrier to getting a job. For example, they must have left school or been in trouble with the law.
Sixteen-year-old Nahdir Gonzalez left school last year.
NAHDIR GONZALEZ: "I want a job because I don't want to get in any trouble, I want to stay away from the streets, keep my head on my shoulders, stay on the right path so I can be successful in life."
The director of the program is Salvatore Mastroeni, a former principal of a high school.
SALVATORE MASTROENI: "There's going to be next steps for you after you leave this program. Hopefully, in September or October we might be able to begin either a GED program for you, connecting you then with a college, with a transition program for career pathways."
Many colleges and employers will accept what is known as a GED as the equivalent of a high school diploma.
Salvatore Mastroeni often drives from Hackensack to nearby Englewood. There, he has placed young workers in the recreation department and other local government jobs.
SALVATORE MASTROENI: "Mayor's office, schools, any public entity where youngsters can gain workforce readiness skills."
Twenty-year-old Desirae Somerville is working in a school office and also helping out at the recreation center.
DESIRAE SOMERVILLE: "They have me down at Liberty School, working with other children. We're fixing up the classrooms, painting and doing inventory."
REPORTER: "What would you be doing this summer now if it weren't for this job?
DESIRAE SOMERVILLE: "I'd probably be home now sleeping, or looking for another job."
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Steve Ember.
| The Life of a School Nurse? Busy | |
| 12 August 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Last week, we discussed a new study of injuries in physical education classes in American schools. The number of students taken to hospitals increased one and a half times from nineteen ninety-seven to two thousand seven. Few injuries were serious. Then why treat them at emergency rooms? One possible reason: a shortage of school nurses.
Amy Garcia agrees with that. She is the executive director of the National Association of School Nurses.
 |
| Nurse Cindy Womack, right, talks to teacher Christine Quint about ways to prevent the H1N1 flu virus at their school in Houston, Texas |
Every state is different. The association says Vermont has one nurse for every two hundred seventy-five students. In Utah, which has a bigger population, each nurse is responsible for almost five thousand students.
The recession may have reduced a national nursing shortage; health care is one industry that has kept hiring. But experts predict that the shortage will grow again. Another problem for schools is limited budgets. Nurses often have to split their time at different schools.
And not all schools employ registered nurses. An R.N. must have at least a two-year nursing degree. The Labor Department says registered nurses earned an average of sixty-five thousand dollars last year.
Amy Garcia says school nurses earn an average of forty-two thousand dollars. But some earn half that and are on the same pay system as cleaning people.
Pat Lewis is a school nurse in Beaumont, Texas. She and one assistant care for about nine hundred children ages four to eleven. She says many times the school nurse is the first one to bring health problems to the attention of parents.
Right now, as schools prepare to begin a new year, one concern is the H1N1 virus, often called swine flu. Last week, federal officials announced their latest guidelines for schools.
These urge local officials to balance the risk of flu in their communities with the problems that school dismissals could cause. The hope is to keep schools open. But if any schools do have to close, then the hope is to keep children learning -- for example, through phone calls or over the Internet.
Schools could also be used as places to give flu vaccinations. Federal health officials said they expect a vaccine for the H1N1 flu to be available by the middle of October.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach and available at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
| More Physical Education, but Also More Injuries in Class | |
| 05 August 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Too much eating. Too many unhealthy foods. Too many advertisements for food. Too little activity.
Different explanations are offered for America's weight problem -- a problem increasingly shared by other countries. Almost one-fifth of American children and teenagers are overweight.
 |
| Dana Cooper hangs upside down on a climbing wall in her P.E. class at Northport High School in New York State |
The study involved injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. Only two percent were serious.
The researchers did not try to identify the causes of the increase, but they have some theories.
Lara McKenzie from Ohio State University was the lead researcher. She says one possibility is a decrease in the number of school nurses during the period they studied. For example, a two thousand four study showed that the number of school nurses nationally failed to meet federal guidelines.
Schools without a nurse on duty may be more likely to send an injured child to a hospital.
Another possible reason for more injuries is a change in the traditional idea of physical education. This "New P.E." expands the kinds of sports that are taught. But activities that some schools offer now, like rock climbing walls and skateboarding, can also expand the risks, says Cheryl Richardson. She is with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
Also, she says not all states require P.E. teachers to be specially trained. Untrained teachers could be less likely to recognize unsafe conditions.
Cheryl Richardson also points to one of the study's findings -- that injuries are often the result of contact with a person or a structure. This tells her that the teachers were not giving each student enough space to move around safely.
Six activities produced seventy percent of all injuries: running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics.
The study appeared online this week in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The researchers say larger class sizes are another possible reason for the increase in injuries. Larger classes can mean less supervision. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education says twenty to thirty students in a P.E. class should be the limit.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.
| US States Will Compete for School Reform Aid | |
| 29 July 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
The Obama administration is launching a national competition called Race to the Top. States will compete for more than four billion dollars in grants to support the best plans for improving schools.
President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the details last week.
 |
| Education Secretary Arne Duncan listens as President Obama speaks at the Department of Education |
The president wants the United States to regain the world's highest college graduation rates, especially in math and science. His target is two thousand twenty. But he says the education system is "falling short" and "countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow."
The United States is one of thirty countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD has the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA. Every three years PISA measures the performance of fifteen-year-olds.
In two thousand six, the United States had lower scores in mathematics than twenty-three of the other twenty-nine OECD countries. Sixteen countries did better in science.
The Race to the Top competition will look for states and local school systems with effective reforms in four areas. One area is meeting international standards for preparing students for college and jobs. Another is developing better ways to hire, keep and reward effective teachers and school leaders.
A third area is building data systems that not only measure student success, but also inform teachers how to improve.
President Obama supports linking teacher pay to student performance. Teachers unions have resisted that idea. States that want to take part in the Race to the Top cannot have rules that bar performance-based pay for teachers. That requirement could make it difficult for several states to receive money from the fund. Among them are California and New York.
Finally, to win grants, states must show they are improving the lowest performing schools.
The Education Department will award the first grants early next year. States will get two chances to win. Also, the department plans to award almost six billion dollars through other federal programs in the coming months to support reform efforts.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.
| Out of Class Early: College in Three Years | |
| 23 July 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
The last time the United States Education Department asked young people how long they took to finish college was in two thousand one. Fifty-seven percent graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in four years. Thirty-nine percent took five years.
 |
In February, Senator Lamar Alexander warned higher education leaders that they risk rejection unless they lower the cost of attending college. The Republican senator is a former education secretary and former president of the University of Tennessee. He suggested offering a three-year bachelor's degree that would save money as well as time.
Many students can already graduate in three years. They take bigger class loads and classes in the summer. And they have college credit from passing Advanced Placement tests in high school. A.P. credits can mean fewer required classes.
Others who want to graduate in three years must pay for the same education as four-year students, but in a shorter period of time.
Three-year graduates, though, can enter the job market sooner. That adds another year of wages to their lifetime earnings.
In two thousand five, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, began a program called "Degree in Three." Students take full loads of classes, including two or three summers.
Cindy Marini, assistant director of academic advising, says twenty-eight programs currently offer a bachelor's degree in three years. These include business and nursing. As of March, about fifty of the eighteen thousand students at Ball State were taking part in the Degree in Three program.
Students in the three-year program at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, take more classes each semester than the other students. But the cost for a year is the same for all, more than fifty thousand dollars.
Bryan McNulty, the communications director, says Bates has offered a three-year bachelor's degree since the nineteen sixties. But he says only one or two students usually choose it each year, and no one did in the graduating class in May.
Still, other schools are preparing their own programs. These include Hartwick College in New York State and the University of Houston-Victoria in Texas. And lawmakers in Rhode Island are considering a bill that would require state schools to offer the choice of a three-year degree.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.
| Studying in the US: Reviewing the Steps | |
| 15 July 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
For ten months, we have been talking about coming to study in the United States. This week, we complete that series and repeat some of the advice.
 |
| The goal of all that work: Caps are thrown into the air at the end of Brown University's graduation ceremony in Providence, Rhode Island. |
Decide what kind of school interests you: Big or small, city or rural, public or private, two-year or four-year?
Two-year colleges, also known as community colleges, have not always gotten a lot of respect. Yet they are the largest part of the American higher education system. They often serve older and part-time students and those needing special help. But other students begin at a community college to save money, then finish at a four-year college or university.
On Tuesday, President Obama announced a plan to invest twelve billion dollars in community colleges over the next ten years. The goal is to help an additional five million students earn degrees or certificates. The president said jobs requiring at least an associate degree are expected to grow twice as fast in the coming years as jobs requiring no college experience.
To help with your college search, try to attend education fairs and visit an Education USA Advising Center. You can find the nearest one at educationusa.state.gov. Also visit school Web sites and sites where students share their experiences, like CollegeClickTV and zinch.com.
Apply to at least three schools. Make sure they are accredited. To do that, go to chea.org -- c-h-e-a dot o-r-g.
As soon as you are accepted, make an appointment for a visa interview at an American embassy or consulate. The State Department says it is working to reduce visa delays that have affected foreign science students and researchers over the past year.
Financial aid can be limited for international students. To reduce costs, you might look into online classes or a foreign campus of an American school.
During our Foreign Student Series we also talked about student life in the United States and programs to help international students. For example, writing centers can help teach the rules of American academic writing.
All the reports in our series -- including programs on admissions tests -- can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. Thanks to everyone who sent us questions. If you have a question, we might answer it in a future program. Click on Contact Us or write to special@voanews.com. Be sure to include your name and country.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.
| Studying in the US: From 'In Loco Parentis' to 'Partnership' | |
| 09 July 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report
"In loco parentis" is a Latin term meaning "in the place of a parent." It describes when someone else accepts responsibility to act in the interests of a child.
This idea developed long ago in British common law to define the responsibility of teachers toward their students. For years, American courts upheld in loco parentis in cases such as Gott versus Berea College in nineteen thirteen.
 |
| Mostly parents attend a meeting for new students at Colgate University in 2005. Helicopter parents find it hard to let go. |
In loco parentis meant that male and female college students usually had to live in separate buildings. Women had to be back at their dorms by ten or eleven on school nights.
But in the nineteen sixties, students began to protest rules and restrictions like these. At the same time, courts began to support students who were being punished for political and social dissent.
In nineteen sixty, Alabama State College expelled six students who took part in a civil rights demonstration. They sued the school and won. After that, it became harder and harder to defend in loco parentis.
Students were not considered adults until twenty-one. Then, in nineteen seventy-one, the twenty-sixth amendment to the Constitution set the voting age at eighteen. So in loco parentis no longer really applied.
Slowly, colleges began to treat students not as children, but as adults. Students came to be seen as consumers of educational services.
Gary Dickstein, an assistant vice president at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, says in loco parentis is not really gone. It just looks different. Today's parents, he says, are often heavily involved in students' lives. They are known as "helicopter parents." They always seem to hover over their children.
Gary Dickstein says these parents are likely to question decisions, especially about safety issues and grades. They want to make sure their financial investment is not being wasted.
As a result, "in loco parentis" has been replaced by what some administrators call a "partnership" between the school and the family. In fact, the orientation program for new students at Virginia Tech this summer includes a meeting for parents called "Parents as Partners."
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
| Studying in the US: Foreign Graduates and Jobs | |
| 01 July 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
We answered a question last week about how American college students find jobs after they graduate. Now, we discuss foreign graduates. The process for employing foreign workers in the United States is long. It involves different government agencies. It also involves a hot political issue.
 |
| President Obama signing the $787 billion federal stimulus bill into law on February 17 |
Job cuts have slowed in some industries. But the economic downturn has cost millions of jobs and recovery will take some time.
Foreign graduates need a job offer to get an H-1B visa. This is a non-immigrant visa for work in the person's area of specialty. The employer is the one who applies for it. The visa is good for three years and may be extended for another three years.
Cheryl Gilman directs visa services at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She noted that H-1B visas were still available for next year. This tells her that the recession is preventing employers from sponsoring as many foreign nationals as they have in the past.
Sixty-five thousand H-1Bs are awarded each year to graduates with a bachelor's degree. Bill Wright at the Department of Homeland Security says fewer than forty-five thousand applications for these visas had been received as of this week.
There was more demand for twenty thousand other H-1Bs for those with advanced degrees. In addition, thousands of the visas are awarded to other groups, such as university researchers.
Amy Ramirez is an administrator at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. She says foreign students who work for their school or at an internship probably have the best chance for a job after graduation.
She points out that many foreign graduates ask to stay for what is called optional practical training. This lets them accept temporary employment in their area of study for twelve months after graduation.
Many times, the employer will then apply for an H-1B. But Amy Ramirez and Cheryl Gilman both say foreign students should understand that visa rules change often. That can make it difficult to plan ahead for what to do after graduation.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Earlier reports in our Foreign Student Series are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
| Studying in the US: The Job Market | |
| 25 June 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
In America, May and June are the traditional months for graduations. A listener in China, Jack Hoo from Jiangsu province, wants to know how American college graduates find jobs. Right now the answer is: not very easily.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers collects information on the college job market. NACE's latest survey in March found that employers expected to hire twenty-two percent fewer graduates this year than last. Most blamed the recession.
 |
| Just before graduation, a student, left, explores job possibilities at Temple University's career center |
Still, NACE found no big increase in graduates who plan to stay in school and avoid the job market. About twenty-seven percent said they plan to go to graduate school, compared to about twenty-four percent a year ago.
Engineering and accounting graduates were more likely to have started their job search already and to have accepted a job. These are among the best paid professions for people with just a college degree. On average, engineering majors expect to start at about sixty-two thousand dollars a year. Accounting majors expect about forty-five thousand.
So how can students increase their chances for a job? Mimi Collins at NACE says the most effective tool is a school's career counseling center. Counselors can help students with job applications and preparing for interviews. They also let students know about job openings and events like job recruitment fairs. They can also help first-year students decide what to study.
Another way to look for a job is to do an internship. This is when a student gets experience in a position that may or may not be paid. The latest NACE survey found that seventy-three percent of graduates who did get jobs had completed an internship.
The group reported in March that employers expected to increase hourly wage offers for college interns by five percent from last year. But, because of the economy, employers reduced the number of internships available by twenty-one percent.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. You can find our Foreign Student Series on studying in the United States at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
| Studying in the US: A Free Year at a Community College | |
| 17 June 2009 |
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Two-year colleges in the United States are also known as community colleges. Students earn an associate degree. Or they can train for a job for a year or two and get a certificate.
Community colleges are less costly than other schools. Some international students can even get a year of education for free. The United States government and the colleges pay the costs in a program called the Community College Initiative.
Six countries took part during the first two years: Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey. Now those countries are joined by Cuba, Ghana and most of Central America. Local Fulbright committees generally nominate the students.
 |
| Davidson County Community College in Lexington, North Carolina, is a member of the Community Colleges for International Development |
The program began two years ago with eighty-four students and six colleges. State Department officials say more than five hundred students will attend thirty-seven community colleges this fall.
Where students are placed depends on what they want to study. The program is also a chance to learn about America and its people. And it gives colleges a way to expand their diversity. The students live in dormitories or apartments or with local families.
Carol Stax-Brown is an administrator of the program for a group called Community Colleges for International Development. She says they look for people who have had some work experience, speak some English and want to experience another culture. The program includes English classes in the summer before school starts for those who need them.
Carol Stax-Brown says colleges in some countries might accept credits from the program. But this is not a way to immediately transfer to four-year colleges and universities in other countries, including the United States. Students cannot return to the United States for two years after they finish their year of study.
A Web page is being developed for information on the Community College Initiative. For now, students from countries in the program should contact their local Fulbright committee or United States embassy.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Earlier reports in our Foreign Student Series are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
1 comments:
I loved the way you broke things down into logical steps!
Cv template
Post a Comment