How Do You Use This Thing?

We all live in a society where technology is booming, and becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives. Whether it is how we communicate with each other, the modes of transportation we use, or how we complete various day to day tasks, technology has become very prevalent in our lives. However, there is one area where I feel that technology is both succeeding incredibly and failing miserably and that is in our education system. In my personal opinion, I believe integrating aspects of technology in our schools is essential in todays age. After all, we should be preparing our children for the future and setting them up to be able to succeed in the work force. In my high school, a majority of my textbooks and assignments were completed using an iPad with a few exceptions depending on the class or the assignment. In other words, every student had to purchase an iPad to attend my high school. While I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be exposed to technology and get comfortable working with it, I am aware that not everyone has this advantage/privilege, and that is what I will be discussing today, along with how we are failing to even incorporate technology into schools where there is high access.

Being that this generation was born into the world where technology is all around us, most people born after a certain year are very quick to grasp how to handle these devices. However, there is also the opposite. Many teachers are still struggling to implement new technology into their teaching, and are instead relying on ways of the past. Many teachers don’t even know how to use the technology themselves, let alone be able to teach students how to. While this is more common in high schools and not universities, it is still a problem. Although this is a major issue in my opinion, I do not think it is the biggest problem we are facing when it comes to technology. Funding, on the other hand, is a major issue.

There are many schools throughout the country that due to a lack of funding are struggling to implement technology into their schools. This leads to thousands upon thousands of kids being at a significant disadvantage when entering university or the work force. What makes it even more difficult is that with schools progressing, some families do not have the money to purchase a tablet or laptop if the school requires it. Race is also a factor that has been proven to limit technology access in the home. It is said that only 65% of Native Alaskan and American Indian children have access to internet at home. With these gaps in society, something needs to be done to bridge the divide between the rapid implementation of technology and those who are struggling to keep up.

The world is changing and everyone needs to be able to change with it. That is why our schools need more funding for technology to ensure that the future of our world is in good hands.

I’m Not Eating That

I have to admit, I am very fortunate that I genuinely enjoyed my high school cafeteria food. Yes, I know to some people that this sounds absolutely insane. How could I enjoy eating cardboard pizza, mystery meat sandwiches, and soggy fruits and vegetables? The best answer I can give is that I went to a private catholic school, and after doing a lot of research, I have found a great divide between lunch programs among schools. After coming to college, my eyes were opened to a lot of different high school experiences. Some people went to public schools, some went to private, and some went to boarding. The one thing I have noticed is that the lunch experiences are very different between these types of schools. I even did a survey amongst 10 of my friends and only one of them enjoyed their lunch, and this person also went to a private school while the rest attended public schools. This sparked my curiosity regarding what funding for school lunches looks like, and why some people have such bad lunch experiences while other people do not.
Compared to other countries around the world, the United States lunch system has a terrible reputation. It turns out that a 2009 investigation by USA Today found that the meat that is served in most schools across the country wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of fast-food restaurants. Even more shocking is that a book by the name Lunch Lesson, said that almost half the vegetables eaten by children from the ages of 2 to 19 was French fries. So not only is the quality of most cafeteria food in public schools going down, but the nutrition aspect is also lacking. The National School Lunch Program is who is in charge of all school lunches, and according to their guidelines, each public school is given an average of $1.30 to feed each child. What is even worse is that this amount also needs to cover the labor, electricity, and equipment needed to prepare the food.

One major step was made following that 2009 investigation. While it may not have tackled every issue that public school cafeterias are facing, it definitely helped shine a light on the food being served. In 2010, Michelle Obama launched her campaign: Lets Move! This helped by implementing various different strategies such as updating child nutrition policies. What this does is helps to ensure access to healthy and affordable food in schools across the country. As I mentioned before, compared to the rest of the world the American lunch system looks pathetic. For instance, in France, some school children as young as 4-5 years old are getting a full 5 course meal served to them at school that is comprised of fresh ingredients and nutritional options. This YouTube video does a great job of depicting how serious the lunch program is in France. Overall, the United States has some serious problems in some school lunch programs across the country and the issue needs to be resolved.

Do you accept bribes?

In 2019, the Department of Justice prosecuted the largest college admissions scandal in the history of the United States. Yale, Stanford, University of Southern California, Georgetown, and many others, all have something in common when it comes to this, because these are just a few examples of which schools were involved. Among those prosecuted were anyone from University athletic coaches, SAT administrators, wealthy parents, to even celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

William Rick Singer, founder of for-profit college prep business Edge College & Career Network also known as “The Key,” is said to be the leader of this scandal. The way he was able to accomplish this is through bribery of college officials, interfering with the SAT integrity, or having students pose as athletes to gain admission. It is said that between the years of 2011-2018, William Singer was paid around $25,000,000.

(William Rick Singer, founder of the Edge College and Career Network)

How the process would work is that wealthy parents would send William Singer money, and with that money he would circulate it as bribes to important college officials, SAT proctors, college coaches, or people he would hire to take online classes or college examination exams for other students. Some parents were paying him up to $1.2 million for his services, which in my opinion is ridiculous.

This college admissions scandal, however, started a conversation about money and its role in the admissions process. There are many that believe that being wealthier can help drastically in college admissions. Students began to look at whether or not there were any fundamental differences between large donations to a school, or bribing coaches or other college officials. Whether someone gets in because their family donated a large sum of money to the school, or their parents paid for someone to take their SAT or other standardized test, people argue that if either student is admitted, the root of admission is likely based on that donation or bribe, or it significantly improved their chances of getting in. However, if someone were to pay someone to take their test for them, then they are not getting in based on merit, while someone whose family made a donation could have in some cases full deserved their admission. In either case, both situations involve the use of money, a resource that not every student may have. People also wonder if money played a role in Lori Loughlin’s consequences, as many said they were not as severe because of who she is in the public eye. What do you think?

The colleges listed are only the ones that we know about, for all we know there could be many more. The influence money has on this process needs to be taken away, and the process must be restored to one that is based on merit and integrity.

“Service Hours”

In many schools across the country, service hours / community service are an integral part of a students education. In the case off some schools, it is even a graduation requirement. I can attest to this because I my high school you needed 30 service hours a year in order to graduate. These service hours could be attained in various different ways but as long as we were able to do something to help out in the community, we would earn hours. However, there is one debate about this topic that is held by many and it can be summed up in a few questions: Should schools be able to require service hours? Can we really call it service if it is required?

In my personal opinion, service should be something that people voluntarily do. Yes, community service is fantastic, however, I would see kids at my school going to community service events and dreading being there the entire time. Their work ethic was not all there, and they would even tell people at the events that they were only there so they could meet their graduation requirements. If you ask me, service should be out of the goodness of your heart. Although I have this perception on what service should be, I believe that overall it has many benefits to students. It teaches students about responsibility and initiative, and dedication and selflessness.

Especially in todays day and age, community service is becoming more and more necessary in the college application process. With that being said, there are some individuals who are completing service hours solely in order to gain college admission, and check a box on their college application. Like I said earlier, I think a reason like this is the wrong reason to do service for others, stressing the importance of service hours in schools has led to many amazing things. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the percentage of teenagers from ages 16-19 who volunteer more than doubled between 1989 and 2005. Making service hours required has therefore had an immense positive effect on getting students across the country involved in their communities, which helps to create better members of society.

In conclusion, while I do not like the attitude that many students take towards community service, I believe that as long as the community is benefiting and students are playing a part in making their communities a better place that schools should integrate service hours into their curriculum.

You Call This Financial Aid?

In today’s day and age, the price of getting a college education has become unattainable for some people. Even with some state schools, the price is significantly higher than they used to be. I had always heard this, but never really knew how true it was until I went through the college application process myself. When it came to choosing school, finances played a huge role in my choice. I am so beyond happy that I am at Penn State, but it was not my first choice, and if I’m being honest, it wasn’t my second. Those two positions were filled by two schools, one of which had a tuition price tag of $81,000 per year, and the other $78,000. While my family does make a good amount of money, it was not enough to pay such a grand sum for my education, especially since I plan to go to medical school after college. As I said, my number one choice cost $81,000, and when we applied for financial aid, which was granted, we were gifted $400, how generous of them. As a result, I was not able to attend my dream school, and I know I am not the only one who had this happen to them. There are thousands of students per year who are unable to attend their dream school due to finances and this is quite frustrating.

It is an unfortunate fact that in 2019, it was reported that the average student debt per graduate is higher than ever, at $29,000. In decades past, the student loans have drastically increased. Since 1971, the cost of higher education has increased 145%. This drastic increase is increasing even today, and is projected to continue doing so each year.

https://www.credit.com/personal-finance/average-student-loan-debt/

A writer for the U.S. News wrote an article titled “A Failing Financial Aid System Keeps Students Out of College ,” and in that article a powerful statement  regarding problems surrounding financial aid is made. William Korean, chancellor of the University of Maryland system had this to say: “I hate to sound apocalyptic,” he says. “But the proportion of students who need financial aid is rising at a rate faster than we are responding as a nation. We are going to have huge economic and social problems if we don’t do a better job of financing higher education.”

I encourage people to take a look at this article, as it really puts into perspective how much college prices have changed throughout the years, going back to 1971. How long will it take for this growing issue to be addressed?

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