Cambodia: Unfortunate Unknowns

           As we continue on with our lives, we don’t really see the whole picture of the world. For many people the life they know and have only experienced was of where they were born and raised, not venturing far from the comforts of home. Unfortunately, as this happens we become blind to the world around us, turning away from the worst of the world and people. As an avid adventurer and traveler, I love the new cultures and experiences out there, but as you learn more about the countries you travel to, not everything is as great as it seems. Over the past summer I traveled to Cambodia to experience the culture, food, and environmental impacts of logging, mining and other ecological hazards. While learning about the Khmer people and history before the expedition, I and my fellow travelers discovered some of the hidden tragedies of Cambodia.

            Before the trip we had read several books and articles about the illegal trades that have and are still occurring in Cambodia. As a third world country, the possibilities of problems that occur on the streets of Cambodian towns and cities are endless, many of which are not known or stopped by law enforcement. Some of these illegal events include drug trafficking, types of Cambodian mafias, and sex trafficking. One of the most widely increasing and unfortunate illegal sex trafficking is of women and children in Cambodia. While reading through my newsfeed I recently found a video of actress, Miro Sorvino’s firsthand experience of seeing some of the men behind children sex trafficking in the town of Sway Pak. In the video it was said that most of these men traffic their own children. Sorvino’s reaction was of shock and disgust, knowing that they do this to their own children.

I feel the same shock and disgust knowing that there are monsters like this out there all over the world taking advantage of women and children in this way, it makes me sick. Although Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with people struggling to earn money for their families, that is no excuse for selling your own children to people for sex. I would like to think that something like this does not happen in this world we live in, but it does, and it happens every day. Although it is tough learning about events like this happening all across the world, it is very difficult seeing it firsthand. You may think it would be easiest to just arrest the men involved in the trafficking, like the ones in the video, now and put a stop to the sex trade, the trafficking is much larger than you can imagine. Men like the ones in the video are only the surface of sex trafficking, and unfortunately the law enforcement found in Cambodia is often times corrupt and may even be involved in the local trafficking rings. For the many women and children forced into the sex trade, they may never receive the help to get out.

Legal Rights for Chimpanzees?

           The New York Supreme Court judges will have a lot to consider when Steven Wise presents a lawsuit on behalf of Chimpanzees to be treated as human beings, not just animals. Steven Wise is the founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, their aim is to give captive chimps the rights of a “legal person.” The NRP plan to present to the court four different cases of captive chimpanzees who need help and be the voices for Tommy, Kiko, Hercules, and Leo in the upcoming trial. While reading Chimps Should be Recognized as ‘Legal persons,’ lawsuits claim, covered by Holly Yan and Mayra Cuevas, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for these animals. Two live in cages on private property, while the other two are used by the New Iberia Research Center at Stony Brook University in a “locomotion research experiment.”

These animals do not deserve to live their lives in cages or to be used in experiments for human research which is why the Nonhuman Rights Project is fighting for their rights. Joyce Tischler of the Animal Legal Defense Fund explained that the “legal person” lawsuit helps these chimpanzees because they don’t necessarily need to be human to be given the same rights as a legal person. Although chimpanzees are not the only animals that are mistreated by their owners, they cannot be included in this lawsuit. “‘Lawsuits have to address a real problem faced by an individual plaintiff. You cannot sue on behalf of all animals everywhere,’ Tischler said.” The NRP hope to act as a protective service for Tommy, Kiko, Hercules, and Leo by removing them from their owners and moving them to an animal sanctuary to live in a more natural environment with their own kind. Cruelty toward all animals is upsetting and should be stopped, the Nonhuman Rights Project plans to continue their efforts to provide basic rights for all animals.

Girls Pushed to Become "Future Inventors"

           “Toys for future inventors” is the theme for one of the four finalists of the “Small Business, Big Game” contest. With jobs for women increasing every day, Stanford-educated engineer, Debbie Sterling, decided to take matters into her own hands to “get girls building” and put down the dolls. Her ideas are what helped create the all new Goldieblox toys to help girls dissociate from the gender inequality produced from the blue boys games and toys and the pink baby toys for girls. According to the Association for Women in Science, women only make up 24% of the science and engineering work force. Sterling hopes to bridge this gap between gender inequalities with the Goldieblox toys.

With over 3.5 million views over the internet, Goldieblox is going to be a very rough contender for the “Small Business, Big Game” contest. The Goldieblox toys offer something different, something almost no girl has played with since the creation of play kitchens and Barbie dolls. I like the idea that. I believe this is going to become a very big hit for parents who choose to further their children’s learning through equality of sexes. The tag line found with Goldieblox is that they are the “toys for future inventors.” This may become a concern for young boys as the Goldieblox toys are pink, hopefully Sterling can create a more gender neutral Goldieblox in the future.

Let's Go Nuts!

New diets and supposed “miracle foods” that will increase quality of life and longevity are constantly being put onto the market for people to try. Many swear by secret fruits and strange pills from other countries, but have you ever thought of increasing longevity with walnuts? Well a new study from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that people who ate nuts more than six times a week had a 20% lower death rate after four years!

Although other studies have been conducted about the correlation between nut consumption and longevity, no study had more than 118,000 participants of men and women. Although these findings tell us that nuts do extend life, the scientists don’t exactly know by how many years. Hopefully this information will be made available to us in the near future. If you feel the urge to try the new life extending fruit or drug, pick up some pistachios from your local food store instead.

Treatment of Medical Personnel

While reading through some news articles the other day, I found an article that really caught my attention. The title read, “Lawsuit: Ohio nurse was ‘worked to death,’” this was something interesting that I wanted to learn about because my mom was a nurse for quite a number of years. The article by Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley goes on to explain that an Ohio man is suing his deceased wife’s hospital where she worked as a nurse, until she died in a car wreck coming home from work. The husband claims the hospital “worked her to death” because it was “regularly understaffed” since 2011 and she had overextended shifts and regularly worked through breaks, as she did the day of her accident.

These types of working conditions are simply unacceptable, but unfortunately staff shortages and additional hours on already overextended shifts have already overtaken many hospitals all over the nation. There is one state that requires a safe staffing ratio for nurses to patients, where nurses who work on general medical and surgical floors may only care for no more than 5 patients, while intensive care nurses may only look after 2 patients at a time. This type of nurse to patient ratio should be put into effect in all states; not only to benefit the nursing staff, but the health of patients as well. Hospitals should have more consideration and appreciation for the medical personnel and all they do to help not only patients, but the hospital running smooth.

First Quarter Wrap-Up

           It seems like we’ve just started our year, and we are already a quarter of the way through! I have learned a lot about writing in my Writ 101 class, from preventing weasel words and comma splices to writing genres and styles. One thing that has helped me along the way is peer editing! With peer editing I can see from a few other student perspectives to see what I need to do to improve the effectiveness of my paper, along with identifying common errors and giving some input of ideas and thoughts that would work well in the paper. One thing that confuses me though is that I struggle with finding a way of organizing my thoughts and also creating the first and last paragraphs. I feel they have to sum up what I have to say or have said and I can’t transition my thoughts very well. Hopefully I become more confident in my writing ability and can overcome this.

            A few things that I have enjoyed about this Writ 101 class is that when I am handed an assignment I have a few days to prepare my thoughts and write it down on paper before we peer edit, I don’t have someone constantly checking my progress throughout a week to get it done during class time. I prefer to work away from school and other distractions, I don’t like the pressure and stress to get things done while at school. Surprisingly this quarter was very easy going. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with essays or due dates which was a nice feeling! When I signed up for this class I thought I was going to be overly stressed and would need to be chained to my computer constantly, but it was nothing like that at all. I was probably less stressed this quarter than I have been my whole high school career! Hopefully this next quarter we learn more about writing genres and techniques to help us all grow to be confident writers.

Waldorf’s Minimalistic Approach

          Over the centuries, technology has been created for human advancement to improve the lives of people. From the invention of the wheel to the creation of computers and other types of modern technology, the need for availability has become more prominent in our society today. As technology has developed, so has the need for learning, many schools have incorporated modern technology, such as computers, into everyday learning, from basic typing to face-to-face interactions with others around the world. Even though schools all over the world have embraced the modern technological era, there are schools that are focused less on the computer screens and more on helping students excel in all aspects of life, without the use of technology.

            The Waldorf Schools are private schools that possess certain characteristics that set them apart from other schools who embrace a minimalistic approach to technology. These characteristics include the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, the unique teacher-made curriculum material, and the spiritual component to their teaching. The ideas of Rudolf Steiner have become the philosophy by which the Waldorf schools live. Rudolf Steiner believed that a well rounded individual must “integrate their capacities for thinking, feeling, and willing” into every day (Ruenzel). This is instilled into children from the start; teachers take the “core curriculum” Steiner created and form it into their own using “visual, musical, and tactile arts” to teach students throughout the years the teacher is with the students (Easton). Students learn information using these techniques without technology, thus creating well rounded individuals who still learn from a set of standards created by Rudolf Steiner. Although Waldorf Schools teach individuals the importance of becoming a well rounded individual, the education of Waldorf Schools lacks in a strong central core curriculum.

Although students who attend Waldorf schools learn the same material as students who attend public schools, the Waldorf students do not learn at the same pace as students in a public school. Public schools must administer standardized tests to students to measure the school’s student success rate. In Waldorf schools, they do not require such tests, so it is not possible to measure the success of the teaching yearly. In fact, Waldorf advocates would have to say that their students in primary Waldorf schools would not do well on standardized tests because they do not focus on a “standardized math and reading curriculum.” One study done for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America showed that 94% of students who graduated from a Waldorf High School went on to college (Richtel).

            The high graduation rate for Waldorf Schools could be explained by looking at how the curriculum is taught each year. A normal day for a Waldorf student entails a lesson on the “main block” taught to students at that time, each year consists of eight main blocks, a two hour period to study on academic work, storytelling, and many other important teachings. An example of this curriculum is in a 7^th grade class they learn “chemistry, perspective drawing, and history of the Renaissance” as some of their main blocks (Ruenzel). The way these “main blocks” are taught is through the teacher’s perspective and how they feel the class should benefit and learn the information. One teacher’s main block focused on geography he began by creating a story for his class on a flight to Japan, describing in detail their arrival to the Tokyo airport and the day they spent wandering the city. The teacher, Hugh Renwick, explained that, the story telling portion of his lesson was to have the students “grasp things on a phenomenological level first,” before moving “on to analysis,” (Ruenzel). By describing a realistic and phenomenal experience of another culture, Renwick can draw students in to wanting to learn more about the subject, and really viewing the different traditions of other cultures.

The spiritual approach to Waldorf is to have a “respect for all religions.” By not focusing on one set religion, students are able to respect everyone and provide no judgment based on religion playing a key role in their teachings (Ruenzel). The curriculum taught to students is almost completely created by the teacher themselves (Easton). This provides a better tailored learning program for kids as their teacher knows their pace at which they work and can form the lessons around the students. Lessons are chosen by teachers every year and always incorporate the main ideals of Rudolf Steiner, but are taught by teachers in a creative and personalized way to get kids to interact better with the lesson (Easton).

Most people would think the families of the children who attend Waldorf schools do not use technology on a regular basis, but in most cases parents who send their children to Waldorf Schools are well educated and in most cases work with technology every day. One father who sends his children to a Waldorf school in California works at Google. When asked why he sends his children to this school he replied by saying that he “reject(s) the notion you need technology aids in grammar school… The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous” (Richtel).

           Although a core curriculum of math and reading is not implemented into Waldorf classrooms until later on, the importance of a well rounded education is what sets Waldorf Schools apart from the rest. Although many schools have embraced the use of technology in the classrooms the main characteristics of the Rudolf Steiner philosophy and the creative and spiritual curriculum made by teachers is why Waldorf Schools are so unique and provide an enriching, technology free education.

Graduation Today

           As we all know, one of the major problems of today’s society is our ever ominous dropout rate. Over the years we have seen an increase in our national dropout rate in high school students, causing a nationwide concern for our younger generations. Each state has started to devise and implement a plan to combat the dropout rate of our teens with the help of school initiated programs such as afterschool tutoring or even national programs, such as the No Child Left Behind Act. With programs like these, students are able to get a handle on what problems they face in class by receiving help and the school can provide the necessary improvements to increase the overall student success rate. While these programs may not help all states improve their graduate rate, the graduation rate is increasing in others. This political cartoon, found in a 2010 madashelland.com blog, shows the dropout rate of California using symbols to explain the concerns we face with our younger generations.

            California’s graduation rate has increased in recent years from below 70 percent to nearly 80 percent; almost reaching the national average graduation rate of 74.5 percent, calculated in 2010 (Richmond). The cartoon depicts a scene of students who are receiving their diplomas for graduation, with three out of seven of these students outlined with the words “DROP OUT RATE” stamped to the sides of these individuals. This suggests that the dropout rate of California has now decreased to 40 percent, according to when the cartoon was created, which is low compared to the past several years.

            The few symbols found in this piece show what the artist was trying to depict. The cap and gown provide the information of a graduation setting of high school students, which is also explained in the banner across the background of the cartoon that is cut off but still reads “High School Graduation.” Another symbol found in this cartoon is the hand giving the rolled up paper to the students, symbolizing a diploma. This also suggests that the students lined up are going to receive their diplomas for graduation.

           

           The strong use of symbol provides the information needed to make an educated guess on what this cartoon depicts. Even though it is not clearly stated that the dropout rate shown in this cartoon is of California, with some research you can find this picture in several articles online describing the decreasing dropout rate of California’s students. Although states such as California have created a change in their graduation rate, we know that the nation is still working towards decreasing the dropout rate. By studying this cartoon and the information provided in the article found on the madashelland.com blog, we can see that our dropout rate is still an issue within our society today.

Honor in the Name

           Mascots can be found all over the world, adopted by teams and schools to represent the team in a positive and fun way. Native American themed mascots found around the United States of America, such as the Cleveland Indians, the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and the Arlee High School Warriors and Scarlets. Although these mascots are meant to embody pride and school spirit, there have been claims of Native-American themed mascots being portrayed as offensive toward the tribes they represent. Even though Native-American themed mascots can be considered offensive and dishonorable, in most cases these mascots are a positive representation of the schools, students, and communities they stand for and honor the school and tribes in some way.

            One of the earliest Native American mascots found in the U.S. is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, named in the early 1900’s giving way to several traditions, pride in the team, and honor in the name. (Univeristy of North Dakota Athletics, 2013) As with anything over time, traditions have faded into competitions of outdoing the last tradition in any possible way. Mascots tend to try to go for bigger and better than the previous year, usually by adding in more extreme factors. An example of this would be the University of Montana mascot Monte, Monte has been the face of U.M. for years until the university added in Mo, Monte’s sidekick who is a smaller version of the original Monte who does most of the same flips and fun stunts as the original. (Moy, 2009) For the U.N.D. Fighting Sioux this competition of outshining the last caused a great controversy over the conduct of the Fighting Sioux mascot and the local Sioux reservation. The Sioux community in North Dakota petitioned for a change in the mascot name because the conduct of the man in the suit was offensive, and the Sioux tribes did not want to be affiliated with the Fighting Sioux if the name was to be portrayed with dishonor and without traditional influences. Although this controversy has died down, claims like this have presented themselves since the beginning of the mascot era.

            Even though throughout history objections have been made to mascots such as the University of Fighting Sioux, Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive way. These Native mascots are to present pride and honor not only for the team and school but for the Native-American tribe they are affiliated with. The Native-American tribe should be identified through displays of culture, tradition, and bravery not only in the mascot but in the team and school. The behavior of the mascot is something that should be accepted by all and give pride to the name they stand for. For instance, the Arlee Warriors and Scarlets mascots are accepted and show pride for the school in a positive way; by honoring the mascots through traditional honor songs and involving elders in ceremonies before school related and extracurricular events begin, these mascots display the cultures and traditions of the tribes they represent.

           The mascot is a symbol of pride and enthusiasm for the school and team during athletic and school based events. They are to behave acceptably from the time they put the suit on to the time they take it off. The behavior of the person wearing the costume should always represent the true character of the mascot, especially when the mascot must represent a large local ethnic group. If these actions are inappropriate and offensive toward the true nature of the mascot, then the audience will begin to believe that this is what is supposed to be portrayed and could produce a negative reaction from the ethnic group. This is the reason why the Sioux tribe of North Dakota was petitioning the name change of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

           Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive, honorable way as long as they hold true to the culture and traditions of not only the team and school, but in the tribe that is affiliated with the mascot as well. Native based mascots should always be seen as a traditional honorable figure. Reading through the information provided, you find there has been and probably always will be misinterpretations of mascots because of how the person in the outfit behaves. There have also been misunderstandings of how the name portrays the school, community, and tribe affiliated with it. For example, the Hot Springs High School Savages changed their name in 2007 to the Savage Heat because the local Native American tribe did not want to be associated with the word “Savages” for they feared the name would be misinterpreted for their tribe. (Hot Springs High School (Montana), 2013) On the other hand, the Arlee High School’s mascots, the Warriors and Scarlets, represent the community in a positive way because the school and community honor the Warrior and Scarlet name through ceremonies and traditions. But one thing is certain, the school and community should be honored to have a mascot represent their team, and should not be worried or ashamed of the behavior of their mascot or their mascot name falsely portraying their community and associated tribe.

Quality Hunt

I stared out of the passenger side window of my father’s white hunting truck, watching the snow lightly fall to the mountain side. The bright but cold November afternoon began with my father and I chugging along the mountain side, with my riffle in hand. For five straight years my father and I have always gone hunting. We have become very close over the last five years, mostly because when we hunt we spend our time confiding in each other and just talking about everything. On this day I sat on the passenger side of my father’s hunting truck, talking with him.

                Our conversation just so happened to involve hunting. The next few years of hunting began to put a lot of pressure on me to get an animal as we came home empty handed every time. Of course we had opportunities to kill an animal almost every year, but each time we were without luck. As I talked with my father about my frustration and discouragement he shared his thoughts. He told me that even though he would like to kill an animal it’s not the true reason he goes hunting with me. My father said he doesn’t care about getting an animal, as long as he and I enjoy spending time together doing something that we both love. He proposed that if I don’t have fun hunting and if it just causes unneeded stress then we should probably stop the hunting trips and leave now.

                As my dad offered this suggestion I couldn’t help but cry. I looked out of my window into the knee deep snow covered landscape, I began to understand that hunting really didn’t matter about getting an animal. I didn’t realize that my dad and I have fun together in any situation.

                After coming to this realization I began to cheer up and stop the negativity I put on myself. I apologized to my dad and thanked him for opening up my eyes to what hunting really was about. I wiped away the ice cold tears left on my face and began to breathe easy and really view my surroundings. As I did so I glanced to my right, that’s when my heart began to pound loudly in my ears as I yelled out, “Deer, deer!”

                My dad and I quickly devised a plan, moving along the road to turn up the mountain to get over the top of the deer. As we came closer to the small herd my dad slowed to a stop. I immediately jumped out of the cozy, warm truck into the frigidly cold November air. The icy cold wind whipped against my cheek as I cocked my gun and brought it to my face. Looking through the scope I found my target, a young buck mule deer. My heart beat so fast and loud I felt uneasy, but my father had jumped out of the vehicle the same time I did to whisper words of encouragement saying, “You can do this.” I took a long deep breath and pulled the trigger. The loud blast from my gun deafened me but I still heard the definite thud of the young mule deer buck dropping to the ground. As I looked over to my dad I saw his whole face light up with joy and excitement.