Since all American children have equal access to federally funded public schools, that means all public schools are equal, right? Wrong.

Public school districts are often funded by property taxes and incomes of the people who live in the district. So, in city-areas where properties often have lower property taxes and there are more students (because more people per square mile), there are less funds compared to highly populated suburban areas with high property taxes and fewer students. Rural school districts often struggle because there are less funds and less students, which sometimes means higher-up government officials aren’t really concerned about distributing funds to that area. In areas where the average income is low and property taxes are low, the funding to the public school will be low as well. This can create a cycle of poverty for students in these districts.

Public Schools Ranked Worst to Best by State | Image Credits: WorldPopulationReview

Sending their children to a good school is a high priority for many parents. Often times, a good school leads to a successful future. Public schools accept all children in their respective communities. Many school districts provide school meals, which helps children from food-insecure families get nutritious food every day. Additionally, the better the public school, the more likely a student will achieve higher educational attainment.

According to WorldPopulationReview, WalletHub ranked each state’s public schools for “Quality” and “Safety” using 33 relevant metrics. Metrics included high school graduation rate among low-income students, math and reading scores, median SAT and ACT scores, pupil-teach ratio, the share of armed students, the number of school shootings between 2000 and June 2020, bullying incidence rate, and more. Based on these metrics, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey have the best public schools in the United States.

Worst Public Schools by States | Image Credits: WorldPopulationReview

Many people believe that quality education is the key to ending the poverty cycle, which means this funding disparity actually has a huge impact on the future of the students and on Americans in general.

I would recommend for you to look at videos regarding the inequality and disparity in public school district funding in order to truly understand how massive and critical this crisis is. You can do this just by searching “why some public schools get more funding” or “poor public school districts vs rich public school districts”

Be sure to tune in for the next blog where we will review the ins and outs of charter schools, and why some people are calling them the “future of public schooling”.

What’s better than cheap acai bowls? Expensive ones! All joking aside, I mentioned Bowls @ South a couple of blogs ago. However, Bowls isn’t open on the weekends, and neither are a lot of breakfast places in south. So, after a trip downtown, a few friends and I decided to get some Playa Bowls. Now, I have a Playa Bowls in my hometown, and I absolutely love them, but they’re expensive. It’s not any different here. While they have a much larger selection, the bowls cost on average $9-$13. I got a Nutaya Pitaya Bowl for $13. You can order in-person or online, so I opted for the in-person ordering. It was very efficient, so 10/10 for convenience. However, $13 for a bowl is a little more on the expensive side, so 6/10 for price. The bowls here are decorated very differently from the ones in my hometown; however, both are equally delicious. The fruit and pitaya base were definitely fresher than Redifer’s bowls. So, overall, 10/10 for taste. Personally, I love the way the stores are decorated. They’re always so cute and colorful! All the other customers also seemed happy to be there, so, 10/10 for environment. Overall, Playa Bowls deserves an 8/10.

Photo of the Inside of State College’s Playa Bowls | Image credits: Usarestaurants.info

Speaking of expensive things: the HUB. Since the HUB is so convenient, there are no MealPlan/Lioncash discounts and that includes Panda Express. At Panda Express, you order kind of the same way you would order a hoagie at Subway, except it’s more rice and bowls then hoagies and lettuce. It was super convenient to order my rice and chicken teriyaki bowl; like 10/10 convenient. However, it did cost like $12, so that was 7/10. The food was really good (8/10). I ate with a friend in the HUB, and as you all probably know by now, the HUB is a central place for all activities: for people studying, for friends to catch up, & for clubs to host arts & crafts activities. The HUB’s bustling energy in the HUB made it a 10/10 environment.

Panda Express | Image Credits: Karoline Roettger’s Blog Post

Now we’re going to talk about Piatto Felice in Redifer. Piatto Felice is not expensive as it offers the 65% off MealPlan & 10% off Lioncash/Commuter MealPlan. Piatto Felice is open 12-8pm every day except Saturdays. I don’t know why they choose Saturdays as their off day, but if you are planning to get some Italian food on a Saturday, you should change your mind. Now, as far as I can tell, the only way to order the food (expect pizza) is in-person. It was super quick and convenient and the kind guy behind the counter gave me a generous serving. So, 10/10 for efficiency. I got some spaghetti and garlic bread for a total of around $3, so 10/10 yet again for the price. Now the food was decent, and the garlic bread was great. I, unfortunately, realized that I wasn’t in the mood for spaghetti that day. So, I’m giving the food an 8/10. I ate in Redifer’s Commons dining area, so 10/10 for environment. Overall, 8.5/10.

Join me again to check out more places to eat near campus!

Politics, corruption, and public education: three words you might never think go together. However, they have never been more intertwined.

***I will mostly be focusing on the corruption surrounding public schools since all of them have similar ways of running/funding/ruling the school. However, this doesn’t mean private and charter schools are error-free, rather since they are individual, independent entities, it’s harder to cover the overall corruption since each school differs drastically.***

Public schools are run, in essence, by the public. And, as a result, the public has many opinions regarding how the schools should be run. This means public schools are continuously influenced by politics, regardless of whether or not they want to be.

The current debate surrounds what schools should and shouldn’t teach. Left-leaning folks have argued for the “1619 Project” and a “basket of policies dubbed as critical race theory”, while right-leaning folks have argued for “parental controls” and “parent rights”.

Since public schools are funded by the public and under rules/regulations from the federal government, many groups have lobbied for different policies to be enforced in public schools. Sometimes candidates are funded by big donors and, as a result, adopt a stance that subtly supports the donor’s goal. Some candidates even receive funds from teacher unions. For example, Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign “raked in just over $232,000” from teacher unions.

Networkforpubliceducation.org does a ranking on “Public Schooling in America: Measuring Each State’s Commitment to Democratically Governed Schools” each month. It’s based off of four categories: privatization laws, homeschooling laws, financial support for public schools, and the freedom to teach and learn. PA ranked #19 with an overall C grade.

March 2024 State Public School Rankings | Image Credits: Newworkforpubliceducation.org

Understanding the political environment and debate surrounding public schools is important in order to understand why a school functions/teaches/is funded the way that it is.

Corruption exists both within the school and amongst the funding discussions outside of the school. Although America is a democracy, D.C.’s political life isn’t known to be the most transparent. D.C.’s politics often result in behind-the-scenes deals, which often leads to corruption in a school’s funding, curriculum, or staffing.

School district corruption often plays out like high school drama, plus a few million dollars in scandals. School board members are usually unpaid volunteers who serve on a board to help run a school. However, there have been many (unfortunate) incidences of school board members embezzling thousands or even millions of dollars that were intended to help support students.

Oftentimes, school board members misuse their positions to help their friends or contacts gain positions. Additionally, school board members have used their power to enforce their personal beliefs – regarding what religious clubs can or can’t exist within a school, or what curriculum “best suits” each subject – onto their school communities. Unfortunately, most of these occurrences aren’t frequently publicly written about. I would encourage you to do some investigative research and see if you can uncover any corruption at schools in your area.

Next blog, we will try to understand why some public-school districts are considered “better” or “worse” than others.

This weekend my parents came up to visit me and stayed in the Hyatt, which is above the Target downtown. So, I joined them and ate the complimentary breakfast there. Now, I’m not saying you should just go over there to eat breakfast, but if you find yourself short on MealPlans or Lioncash, the Hyatt has decent food. In all seriousness, if you do find yourself struggling to buy food, Penn State provides resources. Anyway, the Hyatt’s breakfast is complimentary buffet-style with bacon, fruit, sausage, egg, English muffins, a waffle making machine, juices, and water. So, 10/10 for efficiency and price. I got an English muffin, some sausage, bacon, grapes, and orange juice. Odd combo, yes, I know, but I just felt like grabbing that. The bread was pretty dry, and the grapes were a bit sour, but everything else was great, so 8/10. The Hyatt’s laid out so the complimentary breakfast is the second floor so, we had a nice view of the stairs. Also, my parents get up much earlier than normal people, so it was quiet, but it was still nice. 10/10.

The Hyatt Place State College | Image Credits: scholarhotels.com

Moving on, since most of my classes/extracurriculars are near the communications building, aka New Willard, I sometimes just chill there. Since the library’s Starbucks pickup time wasn’t until 7pm, I decided to check out West Hall’s food. I ordered online from West Deli & Grill (you can order in-person or through the Penn State Eats mobile). It costed $8.99, but the MealPlan gets a 65% discount. So, 10/10 for price. Once you arrive at West Deli, you’ll find the green “Penn State Eats” stand and tell the kind person behind the counter your order number and they’ll give you your order. This is the first place on campus I’ve checked out that doesn’t use the trust system, which I found interesting. The efficiency was 10/10 though, and the dude was really nice. For taste, I gave it a 1/10 simply because I don’t like Italian dressing, so I don’t know why I ordered that. That was my bad. The dressing was definitely very fresh though and it’s not a rip off amount. The environment was 8/10 since it was eerily calm, and I think I’m used to chaos now. Overall, 8/10.

This week, we’re doing dessert at the Penn State Berkey Creamery. Now, as you guys have probably witnessed, the creamery line can get extremely crowded. However, my parents and I were only waiting for 10-15 minutes. While it’s expensive, it’s good ice cream. So, 7/10. You tell them what flavor you want and pay, and then you go to a window and pick up your flavor. The only downside, you can’t mix flavors. But, it’s a 10/10 for efficiency. I got a cup of the Happy Happy Joy Joy ice cream. The generous serving size was quite delicious! It tasted creamy and fresh. 10/10. It was mainly families catching up and talking so, 10/10 for environment. And, in case anyone was wondering, my mom rated her cup of Keeney Beany Chocolate a 14/10.

Photo of the Creamery | Image Credits: Author

Tune back for the next blog!

Since American children have a right to education/are supposed to attend school, the USA should have the highest literacy rate, right? Wrong.

The adult literacy rate is defined as “the percentage of people aged 15+ who can read and write”. The USA has an adult literacy rate of 99%, but recent studies have found 21% of US adults – roughly 43 million adults – are functionally illiterate.

Now, it’s not impossible for a country to have nearly 100% actual literacy: Andorra, Luxembourg, Norway, Liechtenstein, Finland, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Georgia, Tajikistan, Russia, Poland, China, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, all have. So, what’s the USA doing wrong? And how did we get here?

One possibility of why Americans are struggling to read is the school system.

The Percentage of Students Who Do Not Make the Basic Requirements for English Proficiency According to the National Assessment of Education Progress

Let’s have an example: Hunterdon Central Regional High School District (HCRHS). It’s a “highly rated NJ public school” with roughly 2,575 students. However, only 58% have a proficient reading score and only 31% have a proficient math score on standardized state tests. Yet, somehow, it has a 94% graduation rate meaning that students enter the world unable to fully read. This should be an outrage, but it isn’t. Why, you might ask. Because when this information was presented during the board conference, the data was skewed.

“There are three types of lies – lies, da*med lies and statistics” (Benjamin Disraeli/Mark Twain).

People rely on statistics as a proof something is true. Since data is seen as reliable, when it is manipulated for a misleading point, people aren’t always able to catch the misleading information.

So, you might be wondering: how in the world can data be skewed? Well, it’s actually relatively easy. For instance, the literacy rate was skewed to 99% for American adults by lowering the level needed for literacy, while the 21% illiterate rate has the original criteria. Additionally, flipping variables helps things sound better: 75% passing sounds a lot better than 25% failing. You can try to manipulate data for yourself with interactive data visuals like this one and see how easy it is to mislead people by still telling the truth, just with a twist.

So, how did HCRHS do it? Well, watch these:2023 -> 27:30, 2022 -> 28:05. In both, they make a lot of excuses. The state’s average is added to draw your attention away from HCRHS’s weaker test scores & the graphs’ heights are manipulated to give an impression of better scores. For Algebra 1, the graph height is lowered to 40, so 37.9% seems really impressive, but those 37.9% failed. In fact, only 24.5% passed, but the graph’s skewed to tell a different story. Listen closely and see what else you can catch.

Many American schools are quietly doing the same, leading to thousands of students graduating who struggle to read/write. So, how do they keep graduating? Well, you might have caught on, but the graduation assessment requirements lowered. There’re other reasons, but I’m out of words, so you can read this.

High School Graduation Rates

Think about the impact this will have on America’s future and for the graduates.

Next blog, I’ll begin to uncover the corruption in America’s education system and how it harms students.

This week was a hectic week for me, but I still wanted to try out more food places.

Although the Redifer City Grill’s grilled chicken sandwich does give me some protein to get through the midday, I think I will get sick if I eat that every day. So, when my roommate came back with tasty looking, non-Redifer City Grill food, I decided to test it out. The Market Pollock Asia Kitchen in Pollock Commons is open from 11pm to 9am everyday of the week. The Asia Kitchen does mobile ordering through the Penn State Eats and there is a wide variety of options, including desserts and drinks. I ordered Hibachi Fried Rice and 2 Bao Buns with lemongrass chicken, cucumber, mint, Thai basil, cilantro, pickled vegetables, and yum yum sauce. Total cost: $10.97, but with a 65% MealPlan discount: $3.95. Definitely 10/10 for price. It was easy to pick up my food, as the Market Pollock Asia Kitchen is located as soon as you walk into Pollock Commons on the right. So, 10/10 for efficiency. Now, this was my first time trying bao buns and I realized I don’t like the texture of them, so that was good to know. But if you do like the texture, I’d suggested getting them. For the Hibachi fried rice, I just felt as though it was a little plain. However, I was filled up after eating the bao buns and Hibachi fried rice, so that was great. So, the taste was 6/10. Not for me, but I’ll definitely try to order other food from there, like the Teriyaki Chicken or the Lo Mein. For environment, I’d say it was 10/10 because it was just a chill market vibe. Overall, 7/10.

The Market Pollock Asia Kitchen | Image Credits: liveon.psu’s official website

This week, I was craving ice cream, so I wanted to try out the HUB’s Cow & Cookie. It’s open 11am to 7pm weekdays (closed on weekends) and you can either order in-person or order through the Penn State Eats mobile app. If you order through the app, you get a locker and a code for your treat. I opted to order one small, vanilla sugar cookie quake for $4.99 in person. Since it’s located in the HUB, there is no discount, so 6/10 for price. My quake was ready within five minutes, so that was awesome. Also, the cashier lady was so sweet and kind, so 200/10 just for her. She also gave me a free M&M cookie and that was pretty awesome. The quake’s an odd mix of cold, almost watery taste and a cream taste, but it was okay. In addition, there were cookie pieces sprinkled throughout. So, 8/10 for taste. I did eat in the HUB, which is an epicenter for student activities, so the environment was popping: a 10/10.

Very Flattering Image of the Sugar Cookie Quake | Image Credits: Anna Wiggins on OS Reviews: Cow & Cookie

Be sure to tune back for the next blog post where I’ll be trying out and rating more food places!

The 14th Amendment protects public education for American children, but not all children go to public school. Why is this?

Public school guarantees all school-aged children a right to free education regardless of their citizenship/residency status. Public schools are funded by different levels of the government, and most of their funding comes from property taxes of the people in their district. This means some public schools are much better funded/supported then others, leading to an ethical debate on whether or not all of America’s children are receiving an equal quality education. Since public schools have to be equipped to handle all the school-aged children in their respective district, they tend to be rather large, averaging 528 students. With over 50 million children attending public schools in the USA, public schools are still the popular choice for school-aged children.

States’ Education Systems Ranked | Image Credits: Boston.com

Private schools range from bankrupted to affluent. They do not depend on financial support from the government, though they can receive grants/other stipends. Private schools charge students tuition, which can be lowered based off of different kinds of scholarships. 78% of the time, private schools are affiliated with a religion. Parents send their children to these schools so they can be brought up in their respective religion/moralities. However, not all private schools are religious. Some are “all girls” or “all boys”, while others are boarding schools. The average private school is a lot smaller with only 166 children. This means they can dedicate more one-on-one time with students. Since they aren’t dependent on the government, they don’t have to follow all of its rulings, meaning that they can be stricter, enforce uniforms, and expel a student forever (whereas public schools are limited). Private schools’ resources are dependent on the amount of fundraising and public support they receive.

While homeschooling often receives criticism, over 3.7 million children are currently homeschooled. While the rules for homeschooling vary per state, homeschooling parents have to keep attendance, assign a certain amount of learning/homework per day, and keep a record of their child’s assessments. In addition, whoever is the homeschool teacher must have a high school diploma or equivalent. While homeschooling annually saves about $56 billion in taxpayer dollars and homeschoolers tend to score higher on standardized tests, debates still stir around this method.

Standardized Testing Comparison Public School vs. Homeschool | Image Credits: Homeschool-Activities.com

“Charter schools are semi-autonomous public schools that receive public funds and operate under a written contract that details how the school will be organized, managed; what students will be expected to achieve; and how success will be measured. Charters are exempt from regulations affecting other public schools if they continue to meet the terms of their charters.” Charter schools usually have their own dress codes. While only 45 states have laws that allow them, 3.7 million children attend charter schools.

Next blog, I will be talking about the lowering reading levels of school-aged children, how some schools have skewed the data to hide the rising error, and what this could mean for America’s children.

Weekends here at Penn State are for football games (or at least in the fall), hanging out with friends, catching up on homework, and sleeping in. But what if you wake up before noon and want breakfast? Where do you go? Well, fortunately, there is a short and simple answer: Irving’s. While not technically on campus, Irving’s is a great place to go for breakfast. It’s located on the main street downtown and it’s about a 10-minute walk from South Halls. Unfortunately, if you live in East Halls, it’s about a twenty-minute walk. Irving’s is open from 7am-8pm, so it’s very convenient for any early risers. They offer a wide selection of bagels, sandwiches, smoothies, salads, oatmeal, and coffees. They pride themselves on fresh, homemade food. You can order for pickup or in-person. I opted for the in-person ordering, and it went very smoothly. While I went at a somewhat crowded time, the wait for my everything bagel with egg, American cheese, and bacon wasn’t crazy long. So, 10/10 for efficiency. But I did pay about $7 for the bagel, which is half what my meal plan lets me spend each day, so 7/10 for the price. But the bagel was delicious & super filling. It also tasted so much fresher and almost actually nutritious compared to the same order at my hometown’s Dunkin Donuts or at Redifer Common’s Edge. So, 10/10 for taste. With a super bubbling and almost contagiously positive atmosphere, Irving’s deserves a 10/10 for the environment.

The sign outside of Irving’s | Image Credits: Trip Advisor

Now, I love Bowls @ South because of how delicious and healthy feeling they are (even if they aren’t the most nutritious choice). So, I wanted to try the other fresh(ish?) fruit place on campus: Jamba at the HUB. Jamba is open 10am-5pm every weekday at the “center” of campus, making it a perfect place to grab a quick snack. Sadly, it’s not open on weekends, so if anyone wants a weekend smoothie, Irving’s is the place to go. Anyway, Jamba does the Penn State’s Mobile Eats thing online and through screens at the counter. So, I did the later and ordered one small Strawberry Wild for $6. Jamba unfortunately does not do discounts (like every place at the HUB), so it was a little expensive. I was able to get my smoothie within 20 minutes, so, 6/10 for efficiency and price. However, it tasted delicious, so I think that makes up for it. I love strawberries and it tasted like strawberries, so basically, it tasted really good. 10/10 for taste. Considering Jamba’s located in the HUB, there’re always students talking, studying, and eating. It’s a very upbeat environment: 10/10.

Jamba Juice Strawberry Wild Recipe | Image Credits: go-cipes.blogspot.com

Be sure to tune back next week to see what other places I’ll check out!

If 3 million children “vanished”, would you be concerned? Yes, right? Well, you might be surprised to learn that this is happening in America right now.

What are the pandemic missing children and how did this happen? Since the pandemic forced school closures in 2020, thousands of children are unaccounted for, meaning they did not return to any school: private, public or homeschooled. “These students didn’t move out of state, and they didn’t sign up for private school or home-school, according to publicly available data. In short, they’re missing.” (Associated Press)

In addition, chronic absenteeism – marked as a child missing more than 10% of the school year – is on the rise in over 75% of America’s public schools. In Nevada, 1 in 3 students fall in the chronic absentee category.

Chronic Absenteeism Map | Image Credits: EducationWeek

So why hasn’t this continuously made national headlines? Originally, there was urgency surrounding the children. School staff tried to encourage students to come back to school by going door-to-door. But now, the urgency has passed over, leaving thousands of children ignored and forgotten.

The missing children and those with chronic absenteeism range from kindergarten to high school. This has devasting consequences, as the younger children are missing out on learning the basics of math, reading, and writing. In the future, this could mean large percentages of America’s children could be reading and writing far below their age level.

Highest Student Literacy Rates in the USA | Image Credits: Prosperity

What is preventing children from returning to school? Often times, it has to do with home issues – where children are expected to care for their younger siblings or elderly grandparents. However, there appears to be a correlation between high absentee rates and an unstable home life. Unfortunately, this seems to be overlooked.

What kind of policies or discussions are being pushed forward to discuss this issue? While discussions are happening from news sources and the general public, there seems to be a lack of urgency and policy making from those in higher places of the education systems and in the government itself.

While the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the unprecedented number of children missing from the education system, not enough has been done in order to make sure all of America’s children are gaining the education necessary to be successful in life. More discussions, policies, family engagement, and connection need to happen in order to ensure children are learning the skills and gaining the community that they need.

Be sure to tune in to the next blog, where I will be discussing the different types of schools: private, public, homeschool, etc. in the USA and their pros and cons.

This week, I had lots of homework and lots of club activities, so I was having meals at odd hours of the day.

Strawberry Acai Refresher – Image Credits: Sweet Steep Tea Blog

Now, as I mentioned in the last blog, I’m a breakfast person. Now, that doesn’t matter if it’s a school day or not, I still enjoy breakfast very much. This weekend, I woke up relatively early (9ish) and decided to get some breakfast in Redifer’s dining hall. However, on the weekends, Redifer’s dining options looks kind of sad until 11:30, when the buffet opens. Bowls @ South isn’t open on weekends and the other places that are open aren’t really breakfast places. But there is one exception: Edge @ South. You can order your food through either the Penn State Eats mobile or in-person, so it really depends on the kind of day it is. Since I wasn’t in a rush, I ordered a Strawberry Acai Refresher and a breakfast sandwich in person. The wait for my food wasn’t too long, in fact, my breakfast sandwich was still hot when I got it. So, 10/10 for efficiency. After my first trip to Edge, I realized that it was basically an off-brand Starbucks, which means, unfortunately, students do not receive discounts. So, my food and drink were almost $8. So, price was 6/10 because I do enjoy sticking to my financial food plan. However, the food was good. Once again, I went on a Penn State weekend morning, so it was pretty quiet in Redifer, but I liked that. So, 10/10 for environment. Overall, Edge @ South was a 7/10.

Now for dinner this week, I went to Redifer City Grill. Since I decided to go in between clubs, I ordered online through the Penn State Eats mobile app and it gave me a pickup time within the next 10 minutes. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fries for $10.48, but it only costs $3.67 on the MealPlan. So, definitely 10/10 for the price. My food took a few minutes longer than the app said to be ready, but considering the cooks are trying to handle dozens of different student orders, that was okay. But, because I did decide to cram my eating between clubs, 8/10 for efficiency. The food was eh-eh. The chicken tasted a little more rubbery(ish) than I normally like, but I still ate it, it was decent. The fries were cooked perfectly, but they lack any seasoning. Fortunately, there’s a salt and pepper shaker by the Grill. Overall, the food was an 8/10 and I will continuing going there. The environment was buzzing, but I still wasn’t the only one eating by themselves. However, it was pretty loud. Therefore, this combo earned the environment a 9/10 rating.

Image Credits: Redifer City Grill | LiveOn website

Be sure to read the next blog! More food spots will be rated!