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neurospicy · 2 years

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hi! feel free not to answer this if you don’t want to, but i just saw your post about college being a test of executive function. i’m a grad student who is currently TAing and will probably be solo teaching in the near future, and your experiences definitely resonate with what i’ve seen happening with some of my students. i’m invested in making higher ed more accessible and i’m wondering if you have any ideas for (or experiences with) things that would make it easier for you to work outside of class? obviously i know that these would be at best bandaids without structural changes to how school (especially college) works, i’m just thinking about how i can do the least harm in the short term. thank you!

I'm actually just now seeing this, so I hope it hasn't been sitting here too long! The first thing I want to say is thank you so much for caring about your students enough to seek out answers and understanding. I promise you it means so much to your students, and teachers and professors who care really do make all the difference. In terms of tangible things that helped me a lot, in high school, I ended up graduating from an "alternative school" due to some behavioral issues as well as academic issues with traditional schooling. I actually really excelled in the alternative school because the way it was structured made a HUGE difference.

Some things that made the biggest difference for me were:

They didn't run the same hours as a traditional school. Rather, they went from noon until 5pm. A lot of neurodivergent people have sleep differences as well. Many of us find it difficult to fall asleep at a "normal" hour or to wake up early even if we do manage getting to bed early--our internal clocks aren't always socially acceptable, so on top of executive dysfunction, many of us are chronically sleep deprived and exhausted. This schedule allowed me to actually get enough sleep.

There were no attendance requirements. You could choose not to come, you could come late, or you could leave early. You could even sign yourself out for a couple hours and come back to finish out the day. On days that I felt burnt out or my executive functioning was especially low to the point that I couldn't get myself to show up, it didn't count against me. If I couldn't get up and ready early enough to get there at the beginning of the day, it didn't matter. If I burnt out in the middle of the day, I could just leave. It prevented me from falling into what I describe as energy debt, where you keep pushing past burnout until it compounds on itself.

And the one that was the biggest thing for me was that there was absolutely no homework that had to be taken home. None. We put our work up at the end of the day and picked up where we left off the next day. This was the thing that always hurt me the most academically, and it hurt me all over again in college. I had less difficulty getting into "work mode" when I was physically in the classroom, but at home I couldn't make myself pull out my backpack, start up my laptop, log into the college website, then start the assignment itself. For some reason there was always this invisible barrier in my brain that would not allow it to happen. I got A's on my tests easily, but it didn't matter because the incomplete homework was too much to make up for.

Another thing I want to mention is that ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergencies tend to exist on a spectrum--it's a cluster of traits that can be sort of mix and match in terms of intensity and how they impact an individual. While I did have a hard time getting to classes in college on time, I didn't have that much of a problem being there in general. Some neurodivergent people find it immensely difficult to sit in a classroom due to sensory issues, social anxiety, the distraction of other people being around, etc. I on the other hand HAD to take classes in person because I could never make myself log on for online classes--I actually got talked (tricked) into taking one by my counselor one semester and I literally didn't log on a single time. I just couldn't make myself, and it just became a huge source of stress and anxiety that spilled into my performance in other classes. All of that being said, the best thing to do is to ask those students that you see these struggles in what kind of things they think would help them. They might not know and it might take some suggestions or question asking on your part to identify where their particular struggles lie. I hope this helps a little bit!

#neurodivergent #neurodiversity #Actually ADHD #actuallyadhd #actually autistic #actuallyautistic #adhd #adultadhd #adhdingirls #adhdinwomen #adhd stuff #learning disability #executive dysfunction #education #college #highereducation #higher education

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beyondconfessor · 4 years

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Principle Decisions [1/24]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: Zelda couldn’t look away from the words as she touched over the embossed typography.

Lilith

Dominatrix

N.B.: Also posted on AO3. This is pure fantasy, please suspend your disbelief.

She fingered the card, drawing her nail over its edges. It had an entirely over the top design, with a bright red background and black lettering. Despite how over-the-top she felt the graphic design was, Zelda couldn’t look away from the words as she touched over the embossed typography.

Lilith

Dominatrix

As if it had burned her, she dropped the card on her desk. On its back, the card presented the phone number and email address of the woman. Terribly gauche: [email protected].

The business card––if you could even call it that––had been slipped out of the jacket of a new book she’d purchased, and since her discovery of it, Zelda’s eyes had been drawn to it, a strange temptation pulling at her.

She’d only bought the book as a way to offer an olive branch to Hilda. If her sister weren’t so terribly awkward around any mention of sex, she would have wondered if she had been the one to slip the card into the book. No, likely the so-called dominatrix had wandered through the shop and decided that the newest bestseller would be an excellent place to advertise her business.

The sheer gall of the woman.

It had been some time since she’d engaged in any sexual relationship. Since Edward’s passing, Zelda’s world had been entirely taken up with raising Sabrina. Hilda had helped, of course, given that she was the original caretaker of Ambrose––but the bulk of Sabrina’s raising rested on her shoulders. Between that and balancing her work at the Academy, Zelda had little time to date.

And in the few times, she did date she would inevitably end up exhausted by the need to care for someone’s emotional needs on top of her family and usually wound up requesting that they never see each other again.

At least if she engaged with a sex worker, she wouldn’t have that issue.

A knock came at the door of her office, pulling her from her thoughts.

“One moment,” Zelda said, before taking the card and hastily set in the drawer of her desk. She should throw it away into the wastepaper bin, tear it up into pieces, and yet she found herself pushing the drawer shut, feeling a strange temptation dim but not entirely die away. “Come in,” she called.

The door pushed open, and her niece stood in the doorframe, bag slung over her shoulder as she stepped into the room. “How was work?”

“Busy,” Zelda sighed, rising from her chair. “How was school?”

“Fine.”

“Nothing happened, today?” Zelda inquired.

“Well,” Sabrina began, bouncing on the heels of her shoes. “Principle Wardwell did go on a warpath against Coach Craven. That was pretty cool.”

“Wardwell? Isn’t Hawthorne the principle there?”

“No, he left over Summer. It was in the news bulletin.”

Zelda rolled her eyes as if she cared to read that. The PTA and Parent-Teacher nights had always been Hilda’s realm of experience. There were limited choices of schooling in the area, and Baxter High had more students going off college than Riverdale. And like hell, she was sending Sabrina off to some boarding school as her parents had done with her, Edward and Hilda.

Collecting her day planner and unmarked essays, she began sliding them into her bag as she asked, “so why did your new Principle go on an alleged war party?”

“Craven said that Theo couldn’t join the men’s football team. So Roz and I complained to Wardwell, and she stormed off and immediately told him off in the middle of try-outs. It was…pretty awesome actually.”

“It’s definitely a way to make enemies,” Zelda said. “Take it from me, Sabrina. Public humiliation may force someone to obey for the moment, but they’ll look for any opportunity to enact their revenge.”

Sabrina’s lips pressed shut, her excitement dying. “I thought it was pretty great, actually. He should be called out for his actions.”

“And the best place to do that is in a formal setting,” Zelda said as she switched off the office light. Stepping into the hall, she drew the door shut and locked the door. “In a position of leadership, especially one so newly forged, it’s better to think about the long term effects of a stable work environment. Sowing discord will only turn the other teachers against her.”

“Well, the students love her,” Sabrina pointed out defiantly, missing the point.

With a sigh, Zelda drew up and rolled her shoulders. Her niece was sixteen, thinking the whole world revolved around her. Students came and went, but the teachers would remain, and if Principle Wardwell wanted to keep her job, it would be in her interest to make friends with the staff.

“How did your classes go?” she asked, deferring to a safe topic as they walked out of the university’s grounds to the parking lot. Sabrina began babbling beside her, discussing her recent marks in English and History, the study group she’d formed and then quietly toeing away from discussion of one particular class.

“Didn’t you have an exam for French today?”

Sabrina flushed, fiddling with her bag. “I…passed.”

Zelda paused, turning to look at her niece directly. “Define a pass.”

“C plus?”

Zelda bit back the flared anger as she pressed her lips together, watching as Sabrina squirmed under her scrutiny. “Perhaps I should switch to speaking French at home, then?”

“No, I hate it when you do that. Look, it barely makes up my grade, I’ll fix it up with the essay at the end of the month, and then I’ll be back to being an A-minus student.”

“Yes, well, unless you want your allowance to drop—“

“Come on! That’s hardly fair. It’s not like we live in France. I don’t even see the point in why I have to take this stupid class. ”

“Language is important, Sabrina. When you travel, you can’t just go around assuming everyone speaks English. By your age, I already spoke Italian and French fluently. By my twenties, I’d learnt Mandarin, German and Latin. Now, there are few languages that I don’t speak in one dialect or another.”

“I know, but…I don’t even know if I want to travel.”

“Of course you do,” Zelda said. “Everyone travels, or you’ll end up like your Aunt Hilda, working in a bookshop with no idea of how the world works.”

Sabrina went quiet as they arrived at the car. She climbed into the passenger seat, drawing her bag into her lap and buckled her seatbelt with a stony face.

Zelda drew in a breath, setting her own bag on the backseat before sitting down into the driver’s seat. Sabrina had always been soft for Hilda, defending her against Zelda any time she made a sniping comment towards her.

Perhaps the comment had been a little harsh. Only last night had the three of them broke out in an argument after Hilda advised that she would be permanently working at Cerberus Books and not just ‘helping out’ as she initially advised. Honestly, a retail assistant? Hilda had as fine an education as she had, and now Zelda was an academic, teaching at Greendale University, and Hilda…worked in a bookshop.

Not to mention the sudden talks of her moving out. Ambrose was still at university, in his final year of his masters, and Sabrina still had another year and a half before she was off, flying around the world before she settled on a college.

Leave? Unlikely. It was an empty threat Hilda proposed to hurt her.

They drove home in silence, with Sabrina’s growing bad mood taking up the space of the car. By the time that they arrived home. Sabrina didn’t even wait for the engine to switch off before she was unbuckling her seatbelt and running up the steps of the house.

Zelda paused, watching her niece push open the front door, likely to remain hidden in her room until summoned for dinner. She considered following up the stairs to Sabrina’s room and advising of how unacceptable her actions were, and yet the day felt heavy on her shoulders. She didn’t want another argument with Sabrina.

She didn’t want another argument. If Hilda would stop being so selfish, they could actually take the time to raise the children.

Stepping out of the car, she pulled out her bag from the backseat and then locked the doors behind her––not that it really mattered, they were so far out from any neighbours that there was a more pressing concern for a bear to get into the car, rather than a burglar.

She passed Ambrose sitting on the veranda, a book of poetry in grip and a glass of wine sitting next to him (in a tumbler, which she did take offence to, they owned perfectly suitable wine glasses).

“Auntie,” he greeted, looking up from the book. “How fairs the undergrads?”

“Fine,” she remarked. “I had the pleasure of seeing Prudence today.”

“Oh?” he remarked casually. “I had thought she’d have dropped out by now.”

“She asked about you.”

Ambrose seemed to pause, biting on the inside of his cheek before he gave a strained smile. “And should I go running into her arms again because she inquired as to how I was going?”

Zelda stared at him and watched as his face flushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

“Don’t apologise when you don’t mean it, or learn to lie better.” She paused, watching guilt wash over his face. “You should speak to her. At the very least it might bring you the much-needed closure you require to move on.” Before he could say anything further, she brushed past him, entering into the foyer of the home.

A door slammed upstairs, signalling her niece’s growing foul mood. But unlike Ambrose, who often drowned the house with music to signal his moods, a stillness followed the slammed door.

Her eyes drew up to the stairs, a part of her wanted to seek out Sabrina and apologise before she snuffed out the very desire to do so. Instead, she drew to her home office and set her bag down, drawing out her computer and essays, preparing herself for evening work to be completed after dinner.

Drawing into the kitchen, she noticed that Hilda was already at the stove, stirring around what looked to be onion and mince. At the same time, she had an assortment of diced vegetables running on another element beside it.

“Evening, sister.”

“Oh! Zelds. I thought it was you.”

“Who else would it be?” she asked, going to the cupboards to pull out the dishes. Usually, it was Sabrina’s job to set the table for dinner, but she could wash up and dry the dishes after dinner, given her impetuous mood.

“Oh, well…” Hilda spluttered, before turning to look over her shoulder. “So, what did you think of Doctor Cee’s little shop? Quite the business, hm? And the café has been busy of late!”

Zelda bit her tongue to stop the first thoughts she had from coming out. She set down the plates before looking at her sister and catching the hesitation.

“It’s…good that you’re happy,” she said, feeling other words rise in the back of her throat. She swallowed them back and smiled at her sister, hoping it came across genuine enough.

Hilda returned the smile, and it was enough to unknot the growing anxiety in her chest. Perhaps they could make it through dinner without another argument. “And have you given the book a look, yet? It’s flying out of the store lately. A real page-turner.”

Zelda gave a small nod. She’d got as far as the first page before the card had slid out onto her desk.

Swallowing, she tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, trying to not think of the words.

Dominatrix. She shivered, remembering what it was like to feel rope twist around her hands.

In her early twenties, she’d engaged in an assortment of different forms of BDSM with different partners, both on the receiving and giving end. And yet something about that embossed lettering brought a flicker to a long lost flame inside of her.

It had been…a long time—at least two years since she’d engaged in anything other than masturbation. The dating pool in Greendale and Riverdale was small enough that, inevitably, everyone knew everyone––and given her position, casual sex would only lead to complications. The last thing she needed was another man at her office, begging for a date.

Or a woman leading insistent voicemails on the landline.

But a dominatrix would be discreet. And it would just be an itch, after all.

A part of her worried. It could be a student she’d taught, trying to make extra money to pay for their education. Or it could be a number of acquaintances––someone from the board?

It could be Shirley. That thought sent a cold feeling down her spine.

“Zelds?”

She looked up, realising her sister had asked her a question. “Pardon?”

“I was just asking if you started the book.”

“Oh, just the first few pages. I’ll get to it on the weekend.”

Hilda squinted at her before stepping forward. “You’re looking a little flushed. You’re not coming down with the flu, are you? You’re always working yourself sick.”

“I’m fine,” she said, stepping away from her sister. “I’ll go tell Ambrose and Sabrina to wash-up, shall I?”

“Oh, yes, I suppose dinner will be made in a moment.”

____________

#zelda spellman #lilith #zelith #madam spellman #caos fanfic #morgan writes #morgans fics

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peyocchi · 4 years

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Tips/Advice for University (or any!) Students !!

So, as I have mentioned before, I recently graduated from university and looking back at the time I had throughout, I thought about a lot of different things I wish I had known earlier or had done differently. So! As to not waste it away, I thought it would be helpful to share them for those who are currently in university/college or future students!

Beginning your first semester:

♡ People have told me to apply to around 10 schools to be safe, but in reality, we all know some schools require application fees and it can get costly and nobody got money for that. SO, I recommend only around 4-6 depending on your budget at the time.

♡ When writing your application essay, make sure you specifically follow their guidelines for what to write! If they do not have an outline, some good points to mention are your goals and aspirations for why you want an education, what you plan to do with it in the future, any previous volunteer experience you’ve done, academic awards in high school, etc. are all great content to add!

♡ When accepted, DO NOT be afraid to start off as undecided if you don’t know what you want to study yet! I felt pressure to choose a major right off the bat and ended up changing my major 3 times.

♡ I recommend getting your general education courses out of the way your first 2 or so years in uni/college because generally the friends that last are the ones that will be in your major courses since you’ll be seeing them in your other major classes as well. It makes sense to get your GE classes out of the way so that the rest of your time, you only need to enjoy the classes you are interested in and can make friends with people you know you will see often throughout the week and the next few semesters.

♡ Take time to explore the area with close friends or family so that you know generally where everything is! (The market, the mall, hospital, etc. if you’re new to the area!) Also, check in with your school to see if they offer free bus rides or other transportation if you are lacking a car!

During school:

♡ If you had staggering social anxiety or general shyness like I did, you do NOT have to force yourself to interact with people. A lot of people around me tried to tell me that once I put myself out there I would feel better and it actually made me retreat more into my shell and made me feel awful for not being able to do it when they made it sound so easy. You are free to do it when YOU’RE ready!

♡ What I have found is that socializing becomes a lot more fun when you find yourself looking forward to it. It seems like common sense, but we have this unsaid pressure in society to be outgoing and “happy go lucky” with everyone. But this is just unrealistic. Take things at your own pace, it’s okay if you feel more comfortable eating lunch alone to relax!

♡ Buy some cute stationery that will motivate you to be organized and be on top of your tasks. Every year, I buy a big planner that has a month page and a week page so I can map out big events throughout the month and write in daily small things under each day. I also double use my planner as a diary so I’ll tape memorabilia or write short entries about my day so everything is in one place! No need to switch out multiple notebooks. Add cute stickers or color in it as well, if you wish!

♡ School supplies do NOT need to be expensive to be cute or useful. I get most of my stuff online where they have cheap deals for huge packs of things.

♡ Amazon is a HUGE help because if you are a student, you automatically get Amazon Prime! Take advantage of it, plus other student deals you can find online!!

♡ If you think you’re up for a little socializing, join a club. It’s one of the fastest ways to make friends since you’re all interested in at least one common thing. Dorming on campus is also a fast way to make friends if you can handle sharing personal space with others. Staying on campus for longer hours allows you to socialize more compared to driving right back home after class.

Studying:

♡ HUGE POINTER: My professors always swore by the fact that they think studying in groups is the only way to study but for me, I found that to be the opposite. I had way better grades studying alone than I did in a group because I was too distracted by others to focus on the actual content. So experiment with your own study methods! Whether it be in a group, alone, 1 on 1, with music or without, whatever works!!

♡ Do NOT cram the night before for an exam, quiz, midterm, final, whatever. This is not high school and I can guarantee you it usually does not work. However, if you’re like me and cannot remember things for longer than a few days, start skimming through your notes 2 weeks before the exam and then the actual week of, start studying the content in blocks. The day right before the exam is when you can review it altogether.

♡ Depending on your professor, you might also want to pay attention to the captions under images in your textbook. I have had teachers who asked questions about captions under graphs and didn’t know how to answer (embarassing).

♡ Unless you know you’ll read it again even after the class is over, NEVER buy the textbook. It’s way too pricey so I never even bought a cheap used copy, I always rented e-books or paperbacks on Amazon. That way, after the semester is over, you just give it back and you don’t need to worry about selling it or anything.

♡ MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR PROFESSORS. Later on, whether you choose to pursue graduate school or a job, their recommendation letters about you will surely come in handy. And not just for that, but they can be great mentors to you about the field you’re studying, or just life in general. I’ve met professors that have given me so much wisdom and still keep in touch with them after I graduated! (Also, it’s really awkward asking them for recommendation letters last minute when they don’t even know you.)

♡ This is sort of a part two: if you get close with your professors and excel in their classes, you can also ask to be their teacher’s assistant, class grader, lab assistant, etc. for extra side money or an on-campus job. Extra cash never hurt and you don’t even need to commute!

♡ Scheduling: Know when your brain needs a rest. When scheduling your courses for the semester, do not sign up for 8AM classes if you know you’re not going to get up on time. For me personally, I knew I would want the evenings off to myself to work or spend time with friends/family, so I scheduled all my classes for the morning so my latest class ended at 1PM. Understand how your body would handle school the best!

♡ While you’re at it, I would plan out your whole 4 year plan from the beginning (unless you’re undecided, then just plan out your first 2 years until you decide) so you can plan for any unforeseen changes or possible accidents in the future.

♡ If you fail a class or receive a bad grade, it is NOT the end of the world! What matters is that you tried your best and at the end of the day, your letter grade is not equal to your self worth. It is okay to retake a class if you felt it was too difficult the first time. You’ll have more experience for the second time around!

♡ If you experience any kind of mental illness and are struggling, please don’t be afraid to reach out to friends, family, and look into possible therapy services your school provides! The one in my university was free for students and no payment was required.

♡ To maximize your academic success, let your counselor know of any illnesses you are struggling through so they can help you get set up for any classroom accommodations you may need. (I asked to always sit in the back of the class because my social anxiety was really bad at the time and couldn’t handle sitting in the front or even the middle.)

♡ Make good use of the library! There are actually so many interesting books pertaining to most or any of your academic disciplines, and it will definitely come in handy when writing your essays/papers!

Writing essays:

♡ Alright, this is one that I have purposely made a section for because I LOATHE writing essays, they are the bane of my existence.

♡ I usually start by just picking a topic. If the topic is already picked for you, take a sheet of paper and make a general outline. It usually consists of:

- Introduction: A brief summary of the issue or topic you’re addressing, why it’s important to address it and a general overview of what you’ll be discussing in detail.

- Your argument or point of the paper: Include what past research or other people have said about it before and why you agree or disagree. Why do you agree/disagree?

- Point 1

- Point 2

- Point 3

- Include a popular opposing argument to your stand and explain why it is a reasonable point but you still think it is wrong/Or include an interesting related real life case to your topic

- How this argument furthers your side of the debate and what people who support this argument should do in the future about it/Or why it is important to know about the topic you’re presenting

- Conclusion

This is honestly all I can think of for tonight as I write this, but if you guys want to ask me about anything else I can answer or I think of anything else, I’ll edit and add to this post! I hope it’s somewhat useful for you guys! Good luck!

#university #college #studying #student #advice #tips #help #guide #please send any suggestions in my ask box!!

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imaginedanganronpa · 6 years

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The warriors of hope being saved and then adopted by a kind-hearted s/o? And living peacefully in a safe enviroment and learning to be children for real? Kinda like an au where junko didn't fuck up everything....i just want to see my babies happy!!

I’m in the middle of playing through UDG for the first time, so I feel like I know these kiddos well enough to write about them. I hope you all enjoy!

Warriors of Hope Being Adopted & Living Safely and Peacefully As Real Children!

Nagisa Shingetsu

He was very reluctant to enter a new home after everythingthat happened.

For a while, he isolated himself and took his time to adjust to the new home.Of course, he was thankful and appreciative of your kind gestures, but hedidn’t quite know how to react.

This was so different than how things used to be… he was used to a chaotic,pressuring environment. It took him a while to fully trust you.

But, Nagisa is a good kid. He’s very sweet once he opens up.

Due to his previous traumatic environment, he rejects many of your welcomingoffers. You have to teach him how to act like a real kid again, and how totrust others.

There is no stress in this home. You encourage him to do well and help in anyway that you can, but you do not try to pressure or force him to succeed. Hedoesn’t know how to do this because he’s used to having high expectations.

Once he finally realizes that you just want him to be genuinely happy and notworry about school or excelling so much, he relaxes and lets his guard down.

It takes him several months to finally, fully adjust.

However, he becomes a happy member of your family. Nagisa still takes his workand school seriously, but he spends plenty of free-time doing other things. Helearns that he doesn’t have to try too hard to do well, because he is naturallyintelligent, and slowly stops pushing himself so hard.

He becomes much, much happier after doing so.

Nagisa becomes quite the helping-hand at home. He loves chores because he wantsto feel helpful. He is also incredibly compassionate and a great speaker.

His favorite thing to do is tell you all about his day – school, friends, whathe’s been up to, and so on.

He always wants to learn new things, and he took up becoming a club leader formany school events. Chess, Book Club, and History Club in particular.

He’ll invite you to play games with him, but he somehow always wins. Although,Nagisa is humble and he’ll never boast… too much.

Kotoko Utsugi

Kotoko has some trust issues, but she is very relieved whenshe finally finds a good home. She eases into the environment quicker thanothers.

Due to her experiences, she is much closer to the women in your family ratherthan the men, and she becomes quite the ‘Mommy’s Girl.’

At first, she has quite the temper. She can be a bit hostile at times but youlearn to give her space.

When she finally settles down, she is a very sweet child. She has a bit of aninferiority complex and a habit of apologizing way too often.

She loves helping you bake – she’s much better at making sweets than she isactual food, which she burns. She always insists on doing the decorating.

She also loves being the center of attention. Kotoko is very outgoing anddemands a lot of attention and care, and she can be quite needy, but you neverreally mind.

Her favorite holiday is Halloween, which is a little surprising since shetypically only likes cute things. But she loves it because it gives her areason to dress-up. She insists on making her own costumes, and even though it’ssupposed to be ‘scary’ she still goes as a Princess, a Bride, a Fairy, or soon.

Kotoko loves dancing, and she takes up dance classes after school as well asDrama club in school so she’s a very busy little girl.

And you already know you have to attend all of her performances! Nothing makesher happier than seeing you right in the front row. That’s where she thrives.

She’s always by your side. She asks to help you with everything, even if sheknows she’ll be useless. Like, if you need help changing a car part orsomething… she’s very aware that she can’t really do anything but she stilldoes her best.

She is wise beyond her years and ends up becoming your best friend. When you’reupset, she always comforts you and knows exactly what to say. She’ll supportyou and listen to anything, and she likes writing letters to you, thanking youfor everything you’ve done and telling you how much she appreciates you.

Kotoko has very bad nightmares, so more often than not she’ll ask to sleep inthe same bed as you. She never loses her childlike innocence.

Monaca Towa

She doesn’t accept your family right away.

While going through the process, she seems like a very sweet girl. She doesn’tloosen up and turn a cold shoulder until she actually gets back to your home.

Monaca is surprised when you show her relentless love and compassion. Slowly,she learns to do the same.

She instantly charms the rest of your family.

But she has the tendency to throw fits when she doesn’t get her way, and it’s hardfor you to not give in. Monaca also settles into your home quickly and makesherself feel very welcome, and she isn’t shy around you whatsoever.

She can still be a bit rude sometimes so you need to find something to turnthat into positive energy, so you get her a puppy, and her crudeness melts intolove and adoration for it.

Since she’s filled with resentment, it takes her a long time to finally getcomfortable with you.

She finds out that she really likes video games. She ends up falling in love,especially with platformers and strategy-based games. She uses her intellect toexcel in these hobbies.

Monaca hates school for a long time but eventually eases into falling in lovewith it once again. She doesn’t join any clubs but she becomes very popular andmakes plenty of friends.

She has a bit of deviance to her, so she can lie to you about certain things.She also makes it a habit to prank and tease the members of your family;eventually, you learn to handle her sense of humor and let this slide.

Also, she gets really into blogging. It becomes her biggest hobby. Mainlylifestyle blogging, but she uses it to vent about her life as well.

She’s a sucker for social media and keeps up with all the latest trends. She’llalso pull you aside to show you videos she likes, new internet challenges, orlets you proof read her blogs before she posts them.

Monaca becomes a gentle person, and does very well in school. She makes it tothe top of her class and even runs for class president. Deep down, you knew shewas a sweetheart and you just had to break through that cold side of her first.

Masaru Daimon

Masaru takes no time at all to find his place in your home,and he fits in quite comfortably.

He’s actually excited that someone is adopting him and can’t wait to finallymeet his new family and enter his forever home.

He makes himself at home, and turns into a very typical little boy. He’ssomewhat messy, loud, and can be irritable – overall, he’s a handful.

While he can be bratty and arrogant, you teach him how to be a softer person.It takes a long time to finally shape him into being a kind and considerateyoung man, because he used to be a bit of a bully.

He would jump from home to home because he wouldn’t get along with the otherkids and defy the adults, so your first action is to straighten him out.

In reality, he’s just being a kid. He doesn’t know better, so showing him loverather than pushing him back into the street and turning him a cold shoulderproves to work well.

For being so young, he is quite bossy. Masaru takes pride in leadership roles,so you give him chores that are exclusive to him and give him a sense ofimportance around the house. It gives him a way to exert that bossy energy intosomething helpful, which is a win-win.

Of course, he’s very active. He immediately joins all the sports andsport-related clubs in school and becomes quite popular. He tries not lettingit go to his head.

Being the good parent you are, you attend all of his games for everything andcheer him on along the sidelines.

It makes him feel special and thrilled because he’s never had someone be sosupportive; your bond only grows stronger.

He loves making you proud and feeling accomplished, so anytime he gets thechance to show you something he’s learned, both athletic and academic, and showoff – he definitely will. He’ll rush you and start cheering, “(Y/N)! (Y/N)!Watch this, watch this!”

Masaru is very competitive. You try having family game nights which end in himgetting flustered. He also likes challenging you to races and other activitiesand gloats whenever he can.

You have to keep him active in order to keep him focused, otherwise he wondersoff.

He’s a troublemaker, so he’ll prank you and tease you a bunch, but he slowlysoftens up and learns how to be considerate. It’s always in good fun and hecares about you deeply.

Masaru becomes very independent very quickly, and blossoms into a very caringyoung man. His only issue is trouble in school, but he knows you’ll love himregardless of his grades.

Jataro Kemuri

He’s very reluctant to be adopted. Like Nagisa, he staysisolated for a while. He takes the longest amount of time to finally open upand trust you.

Since his inferiority issues are so severe, he constantly blames himself forthings that don’t involve him. He apologizes a lot and stresses out aboutpleasing you. You work even harder with him in order to correct these problems.

You need to constantly reassure him that nothing is his fault and that he isloved and adored; it takes a while for him to believe you.

Jataro hates being ignored, so once he gets used to the house, he’s always atyour ankles. He never leaves you alone and will follow you like a lost puppy.

He likes school but being away from the person that shows him the mostaffection puts him in distress.

He ends up being homeschooled, which lets you work with him to solve hisproblems and lets him stay with you – though it is hard, you do end upadjusting and making it work.

Because he tries so hard to make you happy, he’ll make artwork of you and therest of your family. All the gifts from him are self-made and creative.

Nothing makes him feel prouder than when you put his art on the fridge.

Sometimes, he says he doesn’t deserve you. However, Jataro will alwaysappreciate and welcome your support, because it’s something he’s never had. Allhe needs is someone who will let him be completely himself and stand by him nomatter what.

He also uses you to fuel his creativity – making art and sculptures, he eventakes up writing and making poems and handwritten notes, telling you how muchhe loves you.

Jataro also adores Christmas, it’s his favorite holiday because it means hegets to make gifts for everyone he loves and he feels proud when he sees yourhappy reactions.

He takes up origami and will leave you little surprises to find around thehouse whenever you least expect it.

He’s not a troublemaker whatsoever. He ends up being a well-mannered, happykid. He makes good friends with other kids in the neighborhood and slowlystarts becoming more confident.

Jataro also loves having movie nights but he suggests some really horrificmovies. He has a big soft spot for anything horror-related so you get suckedinto watching some pretty wicked things, but it makes him happy, so you’ll doanything for him.

- Mod Rantaro

#danganronpa #danganronpa imagines #ultra despair girls #udg imagines #dr ae #dr imagines #kotoko utsugi #nagisa shingetsu #monaca towa #masaru daimon #jataro kemuri #warriors of hope

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straykidsscribbles · 6 years

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It All Started with Carrots

An Anne of Green Gables AU, for the person who has supported this blog since it was just a tiny idea in my head. Thank you for everything @strayboys and Happy Birthday!

Summary: Han Jisung seemed like a terribly interesting person... Too bad he didn’t want anything to do with you.

Or- where Han Jisung and Anne Shirley have quite a few traits in common...

Word Count: 2670, the first in my classic literature AUs series!

See my masterlist for other works! Also, I do believe this needs a sequel....

You dropped your rather heavy bag onto the floor with a thump and flopped into your chair. First day of school, new year, new classes. And so, of course, you had all kinds of extra supplies in your bag, not knowing exactly what you’d need.

Luckily, you were right next to a window, and you could see the school lawn and duck pond outside. At least that would be something of a welcome distraction during Literature class. I hope this year goes well, after transferring over the summer I’m not entirely sure how this will work out. Why did I have to move so late in high school? You wondered as you pulled out a pen. Every single class, first we get a syllabus then we get the nice lengthy lecture about how “academic dishonesty will not be tolerated” I mean really you’d think people would understand that by now.

The boy sitting in front of you seemed to be far too occupied with the window as well. He kept staring outside and ignoring the pile of papers on his desk, which he was supposed to have passed back by now.

He really was oblivious. No amount of tapping or whispering seemed to get his attention; he was well and truly lost in his own little world.

Finally, frustration spilled over.

“Psst! Carrots! Carrots!” you hissed, tugging a small lock of his hair lightly. It had been one of the first things you noticed about him, the outlandish color a spot of brightness.

He snapped out of his daze in a flash. “What the—” clearly stopping himself from cursing in class “You little brat! How dare you!”

Anger rose in his voice, and he scrunched up the syllabus he had just been given and threw it right at your head. It hit you right in the face, leaving you with a small paper cut on your upper cheek.

“Excuse me! What on earth is going on here?” barked your new teacher, clearly infuriated by this display. “Throwing projectiles is forbidden in my classroom. Does this look like some sort of gym? I will see you after class, to discuss your punishment young man.” Soft sniggers rose up around the room, and you felt your face grow hot.

It was my fault, I shouldn’t have pulled his hair… Biting down the retort, you slumped forward in your seat, happy daydreams vanishing into thin air. The stinging on your left cheek didn’t help either. I guess it was semi-deserved… I did provoke him. But really? Throwing paper?

Public humiliation on the first day of school? Check. He threw paper at your face after all. Your friends would never let you live this down.

Truly a fantastic start to the year.

---

After receiving a rather blistering warning from his new literature teacher and a threat of “detention if this happens again _____, and the only reason I’m letting you off is because it’s the first day” Jisung stomped outside towards his locker, annoyed. Well, annoyed was putting it a bit mildly.

He was seething.

“Hey _____, wait up!” came the voice of his best friend. Jisung slowed just a touch to let Jeongin catch up. I’m not taking my anger out on him, that’s unfair. “What happened? What did the teacher say?”

Pro of having your best friend in class with you: you got to chat over the homework and you always had a partner for group work.

Con: you’d never be able to hide your fights.

Whoops.

“I got out of detention since it’s the first day, but he was really mad. I was lucky,” he replied as he opened his locker. Suddenly, he felt someone tapping his shoulder again.

“Ummm… Jisung?” you asked hesitantly. Why are you bothering me again JUST LEAVE ME ALONE YOU BLITHERING IDIOT. “I wanted to apologize for startling you and calling you Carrots, I just thought it was a cute nickname. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Your apology is noted. Excuse me, I need to get home.” _____ is getting absolutely nowhere with me. No. Where. He turned on his heel and stormed angrily towards the hallway exit, leaving you gaping behind him.

Jeongin quickly caught up with Jisung. “Jisungie, I can’t believe you were so harsh! You do realize who that was right?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

“That was _____, half the school pines after them. I can’t believe you just left them like that!” The amazement in his voice only exacerbated your annoyance.

“Well if half the school pines after them then they can go and bother that half. I’m never going to acknowledge them again.”

He weren’t entirely right about that. _____ turned out to be a pretty hard person to ignore.

---

These kinds of parties are always nice. It’s fun to hang out outside of school. You thought to yourself as you chatted with a few of your classmates. Our of the corner of your eye, you spotted one of the more irritating girls in the school, Josie, trying to talk to Jisung.

After a brief discourse, the two came over to your little group, Jisung trudging after her. His expression was one of acute distaste, and you couldn’t help but smirk. Clearly he finds her as irritating as everyone else does.

As your little group walked over to the fence, Josie clambered on top of it and slowly balanced her way across it. She jumped off at the end and looked right at Jisung. “I suppose you think that was oh so easy for anyone to do?”

What is her issue? Does she have to make everything a contest? Things are a lot more fun if it’s friendly competition, not the cutthroat fights she loves. That girl and her drama obsession. Still, you stayed silent. Talking to her just gave her more ammunition after all.

Jisung rolled his eyes and turned to Jeongin. “I suppose some people think balancing on a fence is impressive. I saw a kid walk across the portables’ roof a few years ago, that was way more interesting.”

Josie looked almost apoplectic at his calm response. “Well, we have portables right there! Why don’t you walk across it then if you think walking on top of a chain fence is easy.”

Jisung’s somewhat legendary temper appeared to be making a reappearance. “Fine then. Watch me.”

“No, _____, you’ll get hurt!” you cried.

“I will be perfectly fine _____, thank you for your unnecessary concern. Excuse me for a moment.” He maneuvered himself up the adjacent fence and stood on the portable roof, about eleven feet in the air. That looks awfully high… I remember we tried to climb on the shed to set up a water bucket to drench the bio teacher last Sunday. We almost fell, and he really looks like he’s about to fall off. Plus that shed was half the height of the portable.

“Be careful!” called Jeongin from the middle of the crowd. Jisung slowly walked across the roof, trying to maintain his balance on the slippery tiles. Who knew it would be so slippery? No turning back now I suppose, he thought.

Just as he reached the end, where the others all stood waiting for him to get down, his foot slipped.

Jisung lost his footing.

And tumbled straight off the edge of the roof and onto the ground below.

“Jisung!” yelled Jeongin as he ran over to him. “Are you okay? Oh no you’re dead this is awful my best friend is dead.”

“No, I’m alive you idiot. I think I hurt my foot though.” Jisung tried to sit up, and immediately Jeongin and Felix came around to help him up.

You knelt and slowly pulled off Jisung’s sneaker, trying your best not to move it much. “I think you broke your ankle _____, I broke mine last year with soccer. Come on, we should get you to the nurse.” You reached over to help him up, but he batted your hand away.

“Thank you for your concern _____. Jeongin can help me over there and it’s already stopped hurting a lot.” Well. I was just trying to be nice. I mean, how long is he going to hold a grudge I literally just called him Carrots, it’s not like it’s something bad. He turned away and began limping towards the office, gingerly avoiding putting weight on his right ankle.

You stared after him, disappointed. I wish I hadn’t opened my big mouth. I wish we could be friends.

Too bad the day Han Jisung forgives me is the day hell freezes over.

---

“Come on Jisung, it’s a perfectly safe boat! You’ll be fine! Just paddle over and we’ll meet you on the other end of the river!” Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin were at the park in the middle of the town, and the two boys had had the utterly brilliant idea of teaching Jisung how to handle a small rental paddle boat.

Unfortunately, their concept of teaching was basically just telling him to let the current carry him and leave him to try it on his own.

Such excellent teaching, really.

Still, he gingerly stepped into the boat and settled in, oars in the oarlocks. “And I don’t need to row at all. I just let the current float me over there.”

“Yup! Easy!” chirped Felix as he untied the rope. “We’ll see you on that side!”

Easy my foot, he thought

Still, things seemed to be going alright. It was actually quite peaceful on the stream, and listening to the light rush of water was very soothing.

Wait.

Rush of water?

Are my toes getting wet?

He stared down in horror at the small leak in the corner of the boat that was filling the space with water. And they said this was safe. Guess not.

Brain working at light speed, he stared around, wondering how on earth he’d get out of this predicament. Then, he spotted it.

The bicycle bridge over the stream. The support beam for the central arch was just close enough for him to grab it.

Here goes… Jisung reached over and jumped from the boat onto the pillar. Thankfully there was a small ledge that was just big enough for him to land on.

Okay. Soaking avoided. Now how do I get out of this without getting wet?

Just then, he heard the soft stroke of oars.

See, you’d discovered the little river close to your house soon after you arrived. And it was one of your favorite places to just take a boat and relax with a book.

So of course, you were enjoying the light breeze and soft splashing of the water, when you saw the bedraggled figure clinging to the bridge.

“Well well well. Jisung, how do you get into these scrapes?” You couldn’t hide the wry humor filling your voice. How the tables have tabled… look who needs my help now. Luckily for him, I don’t keep the kind of grudges he does.

“Magic.” Jisung replied flatly. “Do you mind giving me a ride to the other shore?”

“Oh wow, you’re asking for my help? Well, be my guest, your highness, step right in.” You gestured to the seat opposite you, holding out a hand to help him in. He batted it away, clearly not willing to take any more aid from you than he could help.

In silence, you headed down the small river until you reached the other landing, where you both stepped out onto the wood planking. Well, surprise surprise, he didn’t shove me into the water. Maybe he’ll listen to some sort of apology attempt?

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a slight pause, as you steeled your nerves to say something. “I… I wanted to apologize for my stupid comments that first day. I shouldn’t have said that, especially to a stranger.”

He wavered for a moment. Please, just accept the apology. You can’t hate me forever. Just then, you heard a yell from Jeongin, who was standing at the water’s edge.

“Jisung!! You’re alright! We were so scared when we saw the boat disappear under the water!” He yelled.

“I have to go,” he muttered to you as he clambered over the coils of rope towards his friends.

“Wait, Jisung!” you called after him. I’m sorry. Your hair was the first thing that caught my attention and I love carrots it’s not even like I meant it as an insult. I was wrong to say it and I’ve been beating myself up over it ever since.

Still, you swallowed down the words.

After all, he didn’t look back.

---

“Here are your final exams. You all did extremely well, and I’m proud of you. Jisung, _____, you two especially, your essays were phenomenal.” Your teacher smiled as he handed out the corrected exam papers. “I’d like to see you both after class, alright? Don’t worry, neither of you is in trouble.”

“Of course,” you replied, pulling your paper towards you. I wonder what all of this is about… I hope it’s nothing bad.

As the rest of the class filed out, happy that the day was over, you and Jisung made your way over to the front of the class.

“As you two may know, I’m the head of the summer camp at the school. I needed a few students to help lead the project this year, and I was wondering if one of you would be interested.” Your eyes widened in excitement. A summer camp? Where I’d get to teach? This would be amazing.

“Of course I’m interested sir!” you replied, excitement filling your voice.

“_____, I know you’ve been doing quite well in your science classes, especially biology. Perhaps you’d be able to hold little nature walks and talk about the different plants and bugs you see. And Jisung, your writing is amazing, you could do a lot of good teaching these kids how to express themselves through words.”

I mean, biology is one of my favorite things, and I was considering going into pre-med… this is a huge opportunity. I just don’t know how it will work with Jisung constantly angry with me.

Your teacher continued, “You see, the only problem is that I know you two absolutely do not get along. So I would like to ask if you two think you can put your differences aside.”

Jisung drew breath to reply, but you beat him to it. “If Jisung wants to work alone, I don’t mind. This whole thing started because of me anyways.” You looked down, embarrassed. “It’s up to you really. And for what it’s worth, I really am sorry. Can’t we be friends? Please?”

After this I’ll give up. At this point, nothing else seems to work.

“No, _____, I was wrong. I’d… I’d like to be friends too. Working with you this summer should be fun. Besides, Carrots isn’t a terrible nickname, I was just a little too sensitive about my hair.”

“Can I ask why?” It had been bothering you ever since he took offense to your comment. Why did it bug him so much?

“This was the first time my hair had been such an outlandish color at school, and I was sort of nervous about it and how it would be received… and then you teasing me about it just sort of made me snap.” I’d never have guessed it was something like this. He always seemed so confident.

“For what it’s worth, the orange looks great on you, Carrots!” You threw in an exaggerated wink for good measure, eliciting a laugh from the boy.

He has a cute giggle. He should laugh more.

Your teacher smiled knowingly in the background. “Well, I’m glad you two got this straightened out. You two will be unstoppable together.”

Smiling over at Jisung, you couldn’t help feeling like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders.

Now maybe things would be better.

A new beginning, a new season.

#I hope you like it #sorry its so late fjkdsjf #i had to rewrite a great deal of it unfortunately only today because my brain stopped working last night #stray kids #sk-writersnet #straykidsdirectory #stray kids han #han jisung #han #jisung #stray kids scenarios #stray kids x reader #stray kids x neutral reader #stray kids jisung #stray kids han jisung #classic literature au #anne of green gables au #frostscribbles

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ibcexchange · 5 years

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International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE) Program Review

I have not posted on this blog since undergrad (~2013), but I feel like a published online review is long overdue. I know it will be lengthy, but comprehensive. If you were looking for a review in the first place, you will benefit by reading to the end. I hope it shows up in searches.

Why now? I believe that given my IBCE experience and what I learned throughout the process, I may have chosen a different undergraduate experience. So, this review is for transparency and for all those out there seeking to select the best fit for undergrad.

Choosing IBCE... and by default... The University of South Carolina

There were three main factors that led me to choose the International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE) program at The University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. 1) #1 International Business Ranking, 2) the promise of internships/practical experience, and 3) a passion for culture, language, and travel. However, as you will read, these criteria that underpinned my decision to attend IBCE were evaluated naively. I hope this provides the insight required for you to make the right decision. In my opinion, the IBCE experience was interesting, but, interesting does not deserve four years of tuition.

1) [International] Business Ranking (What’s an International Business major?)

Let me start this section by keeping it 100. International Business is not a real/practical/rigorous undergraduate major and is not how multi-national companies hire or promote talent. A company will NEVER ask “Our ideal candidate has completed an International Business curriculum. Have you?” It is a study of how businesses cannot cookie cut products and services and sell them across the globe. International business studies belong in the behavioral sciences department and not in the business school.

Think about it using this over-simplified example. Would a multinational corporation (MNC) hire a 21/22 year old with no practical experience to address cross-cultural product penetration issues? Probably not. Will a MNC hire a 21/22 year old to maintain a spreadsheet? Yes.

(An aside: Even if you secure a Strategy Consulting job out of undergrad, believe me, you still won’t be solving high level issues. You will be getting coffee, cleaning up slides, mining Excel, scheduling team dinners, etc. Don’t have delusions of grandeur about your first work experience out of undergrad.)

In conclusion, don’t make the same mistake I made. The University of South Carolina Moore School of Business’s #1 in International Business ranking should not weigh heavily or even be included in your school/program evaluation criteria. To my knowledge, no other schools even offer International Business as a major. So, of course any school that does is going to be #1. Instead, the better metric is the overall business school’s rank which is, as of 2019, #74 out of 131.

2) Internships and Practical Experience (This section holds the secret to undergraduate business school recruiting and landing a great job out of undergrad)

I was hungry for any experience that I could get. So, I discussed internship opportunities with the head of the program, who assured me that the program would coordinate internship opportunities. This, as you will read later, was not the case and that is unfortunate. Keep reading!

There were only a few companies that recruited from The Moore School of Business when I attended. Most people had to find opportunities through networking. As I recall, there were only a few good-for-SC companies that recruited--GE Capital (Risk), Bank of America (Risk and Treasury), Nestle (Leadership Development Program), Deloitte (Audit), Seimens (Leadership Development Program). As I discuss below, there were only a couple of positions available. Competition was tough and candidates with more internship experience and better networks prevailed.

IBCE did organize one language internship through the Yale-China Chinese Language Center where we spent a couple of weeks studying Chinese in Xi’an. This was just more school and nothing more. Outside of that “internship,” there were no other opportunities offered and, of course, no time for internships because we were in intensive Chinese language classes most of our summers. Also, none of the opportunities mentioned above were IBCE exclusive and there were no opportunities in Hong Kong. CUHK does not participate in IBCE career services.

IBCE did try to leverage a Citi Bank alum connection and sent us on a tour of Citi with her. But it was exploratory, as recruiters say, and no position was on the table and certainly no offers were extended. It was honestly quite depressing and the first humbling sign that I was not at UVA, NYU, Ross, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc.

***Secret to Undergraduate Business Recruiting***

You need internships. If your school is a target school, companies will offer internship opportunities. Converting an internship into a full time offer is now the status quo. It is much rarer to receive an outright offer sans internship than in days past.

What is a target school? Companies now hire only/mostly from target schools. It is essential that you understand if and which companies recruit and hire from the school you are considering. The reason target schools emerged and are now the most important campus recruiting vehicle is because corporate recruiters are tasked to be as effective as possible without spending all the company’s cash on recruiting undergrads. Therefore, most companies focus efforts by choosing a list of target schools. This allows them to reduce the amount of time they would otherwise spend sifting through mountains of resumes and focus on recruiting the right candidate for the job from a dependable university.

Companies will carve out ~2-5 internship openings each year for a target school depending on the size and performance of the company and the quality of the school. As you can surmise from the small number of opportunities offered by each company, competition is intense. Therefore, you should give yourself the best shot at a great job by attending a university that gets the most opportunities. Do yourself a favor and set yourself up for success. Even though there are some parents and families that seem over-zealous about name brand universities and would only have their children attend a top 25 school, they are not wrong. Those schools are, more likely than not, target schools.

Do not despair if you find yourself mid-undergrad at a non-target school. You can always transfer and I would recommend it. Why? The answer is two fold. First, if you are taking on debt for undergrad, you need to make it worth it. Even if you are lucky enough not to take debt out for undergrad, you still want to make the most of your time. The runway to 30 after undergrad goes fast. Don’t dawdle. Second, you don’t want to have to go to grad school to recruit because it is also costly. The other options are not ideal.

3) Culture, Language, and Travel

I was passionate about learning more about different cultures, languages, and travel. These passions developed through my academic pursuits in middle and high school.

As a high school sophomore, I was selected to attend Tennessee’s Governor's School for International Studies. This is a summer program that the State curates to allow high-performing high school students to study at the next level, university level. There are several iterations of this program (e.g., Performing Arts), but I attended the International Studies curriculum. During the program, I met several fascinating people and studied Political Science, Portuguese, and more at the university level. This experience highlighted that I did not want to take political science in my actual undergrad and that there is so much of the world I haven’t seen or studied. The drive to see and explore was cemented in my mind after that summer.

Throughout middle and high school, I was fascinated by languages. I started with Spanish, but eventually branched out with Latin and French. Learning different languages seemed to imbue the learner with a new perspective and world view. It also provided a window into a different world than Nashville, TN that I had known all my life. Through language study, school offered study abroad / exchange programs for corresponding countries. I capitalized on these programs and visited France and Spain for language immersion before graduating. I caught the travel bug and wanderlust became real.

The IBCE Experience...

The overall experience was fairly disjointed and the program was not as managed as it should be. Moving schools every other year is not an effective way to learn and is also disadvantageous for recruiting. You cannot recruit or intern in the US from Hong Kong studying. It is also difficult to develop friendships with your South Carolina peers if you are practically never there. You can end up in an IBCE bubble, which could be toxic. There are however a significant number of international students who study abroad at CUHK and they are good to get to know.

Expense

The summers were by far the most expensive component of my undergraduate bill. Each summer is $10k+. Though, if you enrolled in the Yale-China Chinese Language Center courses on your own rather than through IBCE, it would cost you only $5,201 in tuition and ~$1,500 in room and board. So, there was about $3k+ missing from the equation for each summer. We inquired about the discrepancy, but were admonished feverishly for asking. It seemed like educational profiteering to me and mine. FYI--Those are 2019 prices and not 2011 prices. I’m sure in 2011, it didn’t cost as much.

Year 1

The first year, I met my cohort and begin Chinese language courses at The University of South Carolina.

Year 2

The second year, I traveled to Hong Kong in the summer for the first time to begin intensive Chinese language classes. I met my CUHK cohort at the tail end of the summer as the British university system is 3 instead of 4 years long. After the academic year ended, I stayed in Hong Kong to complete the second summer of intensive Chinese language study.

Year 3

The third year, I was back in South Carolina studying alongside the CUHK cohort. This is the year that you complete all required courses for graduation, save a few because the study abroad credits come back as pass/fail and can only be a portion of your academic track. After the academic year ended, I secured a great-for-SC internship in NYC. I, however, chose not to pursue the full time position in NYC after graduation for several reasons.

Year 4

I graduated in Hong Kong without full time employment not knowing how difficult it would be to recruit with virtually no experience and while no longer a student on campus.

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collegeeducationnewsllcusa · 3 years

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2021 MBAs To Watch: Gráinne Dunne. Boston College (Carroll)

“Loyal and pragmatic with a thirst for adventure.”

Hometown: Athy, Ireland

Fun fact about you: I’m on a mission to visit all 63 national parks in the United States. I’ve visited 10 since moving to the US.

Basic studies and degree:

Trinity College Dublin, Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy)

Royal College of Surgeons, Master of Science (Pharmacy)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I worked in Operations at AbbVie, where I led a team of 13 pharmaceutical technicians at a drug manufacturing facility.

Where did you do an internship in summer 2020? PwC, Chicago / Remote.

Where will you work after you graduate? I have accepted an offer from PwC and will return to their Pharma Life Sciences Advisory Group after graduation.

Teamwork and leadership roles in the business school: As part of my community ministry at Boston College, I volunteer as a tutor on the Invest ‘N Kids (INK) program. INK is run by PhD students as a tutoring program designed to help disadvantaged middle school students with their homework.

I also volunteer at the West End House. This is the largest youth development agency in the Allston-Brighton community in Boston, offering impactful programs that ensure local young people are academically successful, develop professional skills, and adopt healthy lifestyles.

As a member of the Graduate Consulting Club, I took part in workshops and mentored a group of first-year MBA students. I’ve also participated in several case competitions. I worked with the admissions team in recruiting prospective students and acted as an ambassador for the program at information events.

I am a member of IntEnt, the Graduate Intrapreneurship & Entrepreneurship Association at Boston College. I participated in the IntEnt Apprenticeship Program, a volunteer opportunity that connects Boston College graduates with local Boston organizations.

I am a recipient of the Denis O’Brien Fellowship. Irish businessman Denis O’Brien created this merit-based scholarship, which offers two Irish students a year a fully funded MBA in BC, where O’Brien himself earned his MBA in 1982.

What school or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during your studies? I am proud of how my relationship with the church has changed, inspired by the Jesuit tradition of service at Boston College. A strong sense of community was instilled in me. I don’t think I really understood before business school that individuals rarely change needles on big issues, but there is great power in having individuals consistently support their community. This is a change of perspective for which I am very grateful.

What success in your professional career are you most proud of? Working with an innovative biotech company like AbbVie offered excellent opportunities for exciting and meaningful work. As a Technical Operations Pharmacist, I was responsible for the technical transfer of a new oncological drug from pilot to commercial scale. It’s incredible to work on projects that have such a real impact on the lives of patients around the world. I was also the supply chain representative on the rollout team for a new hepatitis C (HCV) treatment at the rollout manufacturing site. Prior to the introduction of this therapy, there was no cure for HCV. Treatment at the time required long-term maintenance and was incredibly debilitating. AbbVie’s HCV treatment cleared the virus from your body within 12 weeks, allowing patients to live full and healthy lives.

Why did you choose this business school? Boston College has a very strong data analytics track – that was very important to me when choosing a program. I really enjoyed mastering data tools like SQL, Tableau, SPSS, Alteryx, and Python and learning how to use these tools for strategic insights. These are skills that will set me apart in the workplace.

Boston College has a deep connection to Ireland and a great sense of community, which makes it a special experience for me and where I feel very at home.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The Tuck Winter Carnival, an annual intercollegiate event that BC is invited to, was my favorite MBA event – especially since it happened just before last year’s lockdown. I was fortunate enough to take part as a freshman MBA student. It was great not only getting to know MBA students from other schools, but also building stronger connections with my classmates and high school students.

Looking back on your MBA experience, what would you do differently and why? There isn’t much that I would change. I was hoping to go on a volunteer trip. With the lockdown, however, this was not possible. Otherwise, I might have changed a course or two afterwards. However, by dealing with various topics, I was able to understand my personal interests, strengths and weaknesses.

What’s the biggest myth about your school? Boston College is known as a strong financial school. That’s true, but the BC MBA also has a broad curriculum and we are fortunate to have very talented professors everywhere. For example, we have an incredibly strong data analytics track. Professors like Pieter Vanderwerf, George Wyner, Sam Ramsbottom and Jonathan Reuter make their respective fields accessible, practical and entertaining.

What surprised you most about the business school? I was surprised that I liked the more technical and quantitative subjects, although I am probably qualitatively stronger. There is a great sense of satisfaction in tackling a difficult problem and overcoming the challenge.

What did you do during the application process that gave you an advantage at the school you chose? A face-to-face visit to a school and a face-to-face meeting with faculty and students is invaluable, not only to give you an edge during the application process, but also to determine if the school is a good culturally fit for you.

Which MBA classmate do you admire most? Kimberly Hay Strauss is remarkable. She is always up to date in class while doing internships and looking after her son during school time. Despite her humble, low-key style, it is evident that she is incredibly intelligent and hardworking. She is also very generous with her classmates.

How disruptive was switching to an online or hybrid environment after the COVID outbreak?

The pandemic was certainly a shock and the MBA experience was one of many things that were hit by these unprecedented times. Regardless, BC and the professors did a great job adapting to an online environment quickly and providing personal support to the students. I also took the opportunity to get the most out of the online MBA experience by setting up zoom workouts in the morning, using virtual office hours, and making daily check-in calls with my friends. I was incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to build relationships with my fellow students in the first semester. That was a great support network.

Who most influenced your decision to start a business while studying? Several people inspired and influenced my decision to do business while in college. My father is my role model. He is a serving leader within the local community. He set high standards for my siblings and me and taught us to do our best in everything we did. He instilled in us the confidence that great opportunities are open to us.

My younger sister is a trained pharmacist and also attended business school. She is a health counselor and opened my eyes to the impactful work available to those who can marry a health and business perspective.

James Hughes, a director at AbbVie, taught me a lot about strategic thinking and how to effectively support and engage a team. He is a great mentor who has actively supported my personal development and professional career.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? In the short term, I’m excited to come to PwC to work with life science clients to solve their greatest challenges. I am interested in building based on my data analysis skills that I acquired at BC. This is in line with PwC’s goal of training its employees with new data tools. Ideally, I want to help companies design and leverage data systems to achieve operational efficiencies and improve the overall patient experience.

In the long term, I would like to start my own company. Ideally, I want to start a small or medium-sized business that offers job opportunities or drives growth in my community.

What did … do Gráinne such an invaluable addition to the 2021 class?

“Gráinne has the ideal qualities that we expect from a BC MBA student. She is smart, hardworking, and dedicated to giving back to the community. Her exemplary achievements and contributions at BC – in the classroom and her work with Invest N ‘Kids, in her summer internship and at BC MBA admissions events – testify to her consistent pursuit of excellence.

Born and raised in Ireland, Gráinne attended Trinity College, where she earned both a BS and an MS in pharmacy. After graduation, she was hired by AbbVie, the Illinois-based pharmaceutical company, to work on the company’s business development program in Dublin, Ireland. Because of the high quality of her work, she was given the opportunity to work at AbbVie’s Chicago office.

Gráinne applied to the Carroll School, where she received the highly selective Denis O’Brien Scholarship, which is awarded to students expressing an interest in the economy or business development in Ireland. After a successful first year in the program, Gráinne completed the consultant internship program at PwC in Chicago in the summer of 2020 and will return there for a full-time position after graduation. We have been fortunate to have Gráinne as a member of the 2021 class and she is a real pleasure to work with. In addition to all of her successes in the program, Gráinnes’ humility and her commitment to the BC MBA program make us proud to have her as a member of our community. “

Marilyn Eckmann Associate Dean, Graduate Program, Carroll School of Management

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/2021-mbas-to-watch-grainne-dunne-boston-college-carroll/

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blazardragon · 7 years

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Kunugigaoka Class Overviews and Personalities

Each class has a page dedicated to it in the databook, with the exception of Class A, which gets two pages. There’s a bit of retreading on old information, but there’s also some interesting stuff in there. It’s six pages of the databook in total, so I’ve left the actual translation under the “Keep Reading” tab, but for a quick highlight of some info I thought was pretty neat:

Each class seems to have its own “personality”. It’s not like Harry Potter where people get sorted based on personality, of course, but one’s standing on the academic ladder and the pressures that come with it seem to affect each class’s morale as a whole. A casual summary boils down to -

Class A: We have a lot of expectations piled on us so we are very, very stressed, but we’d rather die than lose our “elite” status

Class B: We’re not as strong as Class A, but we’re actually the most popular class because we’re smart, we’re friendly, and we value teamwork

Class C: We just don’t want to stand out, but please don’t forget we’re here either. The best amount of pressure is no pressure.

Class D: We may be near the bottom of the barrel, but we can still be the best goddamit!!! We have the most spirit!!! We’ll crush Class A!!! Also, we have to assert that we are not as bad as Class E by constantly degrading them!!! [TN: I have the feeling that most of the animosity towards 3-E comes from this group]

Class E: We’re supposed to be dirt, but this year we’re not ;)

Gakushuu actually cameos in the background in the baseball arc (Page 15 of chapter 33). I never noticed him there because his hair is quite different! It looks like Matsui was originally planning on a different hairstyle for him

If you see random students drawn in the background, they’re almost certainly from Class C. It seems Matsui decided that Class C is the “random mob character” class

Oono-sensei (Karma’s and Nagisa’s old teacher) is apparently extremely hot-blooded. I felt like the book was describing Might Guy o_O

Class E’s building is about 1 kilometer from the main school building, and one round trip takes 1 hour

But for those who want to read it themselves and not just my extremely casual summary, here’s the translation below:

Class 3-A: A special class Kunugigaoka Academy boasts for an elite group with a promising future

Homeroom Teacher: Shishido Kazuhiko

Demographics: 40 students (28 boys, 12 girls)

Section 1: Kunugigaoka Academy’s chosen geniuses

Kunugigaoka’s top class, which consists only of gifted students who achieved excellent results. Class A has a special curriculum different from the general classes, promising further improvement in academic ability.

Section 2: They obtain good results not only in academic ability but also in the sports field.

A commemorative photo taken after their Baseball tournament victory. Asano Gakushuu makes his first appearance here. He’s the one in the center left side of the picture making a thumbs-up sign.

The students of Class A consciously and actively strive to improve themselves, so they leave excellent results not just in academics but in sports as well. Physical fitness is indispensable for long-term studying and sustaining concentration.

Section 3: The heavy responsibility and pressure that comes with the pursuit of perpetual victory

Students who have fallen behind find it difficult to cope with Class A’s high-level coursework.

Students who are aware of the inadequacies in their abilities endeavor to improve their academic ability even outside of school, leading to twice as much educational effectiveness.

What’s most harmful for a student’s growth is when he or she becomes conceited and negligent, thinking “I’m a successful person”. Students whose grades fall below standards are mercilessly downgraded into a lower class.

Section 4: The special education for fostering true elites

As exemplified in the proverb “One rotten apple spoils the barrel”, a person’s surroundings has a strong impact on his or her nature. The presence of an excellent student serves as a stimulus for the other students, and they become the goal they aim for.

Section 5: Only the victors have the privilege to rule over the losers

High hurdles are imposed on them, so the students of Class A study zealously, leaving no time for fun. Stress stockpiles inside of them easily compared to the other classes. Ridiculing the losers has become a good way for them to let out their stress.

Section 6: Pick Up Student!! Kunugigaoka’s Kings of the Elites: The Five Virtuosos

Even among Class A where excellent students gather, there are five students who excel even further and achieve magnificent grades. People respectfully refer to them as “The Five Virtuosos”.

Class B - They value getting along with others! A class united in teamwork!

Homeroom Teacher: Sawatari Shizue

Demographics: 40 students (22 boys, 18 girls)

Section 1: B class’s third years!! Sawatari sensei!!

If you’re talking about the third-year students, you gotta mention Class B. If you’re talking about Class B, you gotta mention the third-year students. Such is the orthodox here. For some reason, one hears about 3-B a lot. It seems there aren’t many bad apples or morons in a famous school like Kunugigaoka.

Section 2: Their excellence in sports is second only to Class A!

They’re overshadowed by Class A, who excels both academically and physically, but Class B also excels quite a bit in the field of sports. Is it because their P.E. teacher is so good at flattery!?

Class B also has Shindou-kun, the baseball captain who has obtained great results at many tournaments

Section 3: Pick up Student!!

Doesn’t the world exist solely for me!? Tagawa Kokona

She used to put on a victim-like façade and was an ever-crawling parasite of Kataoka’s. Now, she’s so crazy about swimming that she goes to the pool 3 times a week.

Class C – Being ordinary is just right for me! They’re the middle class who receives average marks in everything!

Homeroom Teacher: Kobayashi Masao

Demographics: 40 students (19 boys, 21 girls)

Section 1: We are here!! Remember 3-C!!

Compared to the other classes, which each have distinct characteristics, this class has nothing in particular that makes it stand out. On the other hand, it’s distinct precisely because it’s an ordinary class. The students of Class C have average grades and average sporting ability. Even their outward appearance is average.

Section 2: If you pay close enough attention, 3-C is always there!

You won’t notice unless you look closely, but almost all the students drawn in the background are from Class C. They’re here, they’re there, they’re everywhere.

Pictured above are students returning to their classes after the all-school assembly. Of course, these are all Class C students, too.

Section 3: Pick up student!!

She loves many <3 The ikemen hunter, Uchiya Kaho

She’s the ex-girlfriend of Class E’s Maehara and the Five Vituoso’s Seo. She has a frivolous personality, and she’s always in crush mode every day of the year. It’s a well-known piece of gossip that her love has been unrequited these days.

Class D – As long as you’ve got spirit, you can do anything! The boisterous class brimming with passion!

Homeroom Teacher: Oono Kensaku

Demographics: 40 students (23 boys, 17 girls)

Section 1: Vigorous, bright, enthusiastic, and passionate!

Kunugigaoka’s most hot-blooded teacher, Oono-sensei, serves as Class D’s homeroom teacher. Thanks to his tutelage, many of the students in Class D exhibit the same hot-blooded spirit. Their cheering at the baseball game was also full of energy, so they’re a very refreshing group.

Whenever there’s trouble, they immediately consult Oono-sensei. He’ll resolve the issue right away.

They’re no match for Class A yet, but Class D firmly believes they’ll defeat them someday. They just have to be patiently persevere.

Section 2: Oono-sensei’s education-style is like a full force, whole body tackle!

Oono-sensei looks at things through the same point of view as his students and connects with them as if he’s their older brother, so he is popular with the students of Class D. Students he gets along with tend to see a boost in their academic abilities.

Section 3: Pick up Student!!

The shining, minor character combination, Tanaka & Takada

They’re always making passes at Class E every time they appear, making these two representatives of the main school building. Both are enrolled in Class D. The next two pages will be focused on the lifestyles of these two. [TN: Which I probably won’t ever translate because it looks like it’s just manga recap]

Class E – Kunugigaoka’s lowest level class. Otherwise known as the “E for End Class”

Homeroom Teacher: Karasuma Tadaomi

Demographics: 28 students (15 boys, 13 girls)

Section 1: A home for failures…!? A place where dropouts are exiled.

Students who are failing their classes and judged to need stricter guidance are sent to this special remedial class. Class E’s school building is the former school building, an old wooden structure halfway up the mountain behind the main school. It’s approximately 1 kilometer from the main school building, and one round trip takes 1 hour. One must study hard to break out of this inferior environment.

Section 2: A poor learning environment suitable for bottom of the barrel students

…Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be, but it seems that recently there has been a big change in Class E’s learning environment. Is this due to some secret maneuvering by Class E’s homeroom teacher!?

There’s no air conditioning, and a draft blows in. There’s also an old blackboard and old wooden desks and chairs that feel like remnants of the Showa Era (TN: 1926 – 1989). Plenty for a group of dropouts. [Gosh, even the book is mean to them ;A;]

Section 3: A disaster at Kunugigaoka Academy!? Class E’s big breakthrough!

Class E has always been the worst at sports and in the semester exams, but this year they have somehow enjoyed continuous success. How did this happen? The faculty is currently investigating the cause of this.

#assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #Class E #Class A #assclass #translations #databook

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loudlytransparenttrash · 7 years

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This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 11

While Evergreen State College students were protesting a professor who wasn’t cool with every white person being told to leave the campus for the day, the school's provost asked professors to go easy on students who "have diverted time and energy from their academic work," and to consider “the physical and emotional commitment” of student protesters when deciding their final grades. “The student protesters have diverted time and energy from their academic work to promote institutional change and social justice.” This comes after college president George Bridges had agreed to comply with student demands that protesters be excused from homework assignments while they demonstrated their disgust with the professor.

A University of Utah professor has created a "Racial Battle Fatigue Research Group" to examine the ways in which "microaggressions" cause "battle fatigue" for non-white people. “The focus of the Racial Battle Fatigue Research Group will be to examine offensive racial mechanisms i.e. racial microaggressions and racial battle fatigue in education,” according to the group’s website. While there is no formal research project affiliated with the group, it plays host to monthly meetings during which students discuss racial battle fatigue and methods of combatting it. The group’s leader explained that to stop “battle fatigue,” white people need to stop committing microaggressions and other instances of racism. “People should be aware of how things they may say or do subconsciously can be perceived or received as racial microaggressions. While the vast majority of whites are people who don't intend to do those things, these microaggressions can still hurt people of color, regardless of intent.”

To the mounting list of ways to possibly offend other students on college campuses these days, you can now add talking about your homework. “Sure, you had no ill-intent, and absolutely nothing racist in mind at all, but by merely uttering that you found your homework easy out loud, you risk a microaggression,” Stanford Prof, Ruth Starkman writes. Trying to explain why an assignment wasn’t too hard for you is also a microaggression. “Not everyone went to your high school, had your fortunate circumstances, or such a dazzling delivery room arrival.” Fundamentally, Starkman says, some students struggle while others breeze through because of an injustice - namely “unevenly distributed knowledge.” In Starkman’s mind, any student who comes to a university with a decent educational foundation is excelling because of their wealth and privilege. “Congrats if you did. Try not to be a jerk about it.”

A “privilege checklist” provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology asks students to acknowledge that being unaware of their privilege is itself a form of privilege. The “Diversity Learning Tree” offers a series of “privilege checklists” designed to help students determine whether they have White privilege, Able-bodied privilege, Heterosexual privilege, Male privilege or Social class privilege. The checklists are based on the Peggy McIntosh article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” which argues that white people benefit from an “invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks” not enjoyed by people of other races. Notably, the final item on the male privilege list paradoxically states, “I have the privilege of being unaware of my male privilege.”

A professor at Georgia State University has published an academic journal article lamenting the “insidiousness of silence and whiteness” on college campuses. She plans to show how white professors contribute to oppression by failing to speak out against microaggressions. Her main issue describes the reaction to the U.S. News & World Report ranking falling due to low GRE scores for admitted PhD students, where suggestions saying no applicants with scores below the 50th percentile should be admitted is simply unacceptable. She points out that “78 percent of African American examinees had combined scores that fell below 300, as did 66 percent of Puerto Rican examinees,” and that therefore the proposed high standards would adversely affect those subgroups. Towards the end of her paper, she explains how the silence of white academics on racial issues in academia contributes to oppression. “Remaining silent may itself be the luxury of white privilege and may reinforce oppression. This is particularly true when working as a white faculty member, operating with high levels of white fragility, within a system of higher education cloaked in whiteness.”

Public museums and memorials serve our nation’s “foundational commitments to white heterosexual male supremacy,” according to two Texas A&M University professors. It’s unsurprising that Tasha Dubriwny and Kristan Poirot both teach Women’s Studies at TAMU. “In short, the embodiment of the American identity in commemorative sites is, more often than not, a white heterosexual cisgendered male, reaffirming the ‘great man’ perspective that dominated American historiography for too long.” Dubriwny also worries that war memorials in particular could perpetuate a problematic ethos of masculinity within the broader culture, saying they highlight “an aggressive, heroic, combat-centric masculinity and take part in a larger heteronormative cultural script.”

University of Maryland campus police launched an investigation into a discarded piece of plastic wrap after receiving a report about a “possible hate-bias” incident. “Out of an abundance of concern, we are looking into this matter and conducting a review of our cameras in the area,” the department informed students via email. A UMD student tweeted a picture of the plastic wrap suggesting he was convinced that the detritus was intended to resemble a noose. In response, another student remarked that "I'm sick and tired of all these fucking nooses." The campus police said in their statement that this noose was rather “a type of material used to contain loose items during transport.” Colleges are so unsafe these days, you guys!

Aztecs. Redskins. Crusaders. Those are a few of the mascots that have been deemed offensive over the years. There’s a new one to add to the list: Millionaires. That’s the moniker for Lenox Memorial Middle and High School in Massachusetts, but now students polled at the school want a new nickname. A ninth-grader at the school said, “It divides us within our community. It has become associated with the top 1 percent of our country, which excludes and burdens a very large majority of the population and currently plays a large role in the division of the United States.” The mascot has historical origins, dating back to decades ago when millionaires who owned cottages in the town donated money to build the school and kept the town afloat as local residents served in the military overseas. But fuck those rich white assholes.

The new director of the Claremont Colleges’ LGBTQ center has drawn concern over his tweets saying he’s “wary of and keeps his distance from white gays and well meaning white women” and that police exist to “service and protect white supremacy.” Jonathan Higgins was recently appointed as the new director of the Queer Resource Center of the Claremont Colleges, a cluster of five elite private campuses in Los Angeles County.

Two feminist Geography professors, Rutgers University professor Carrie Mott and University of Waterloo professor Daniel Cockayne wrote an article for an academic journal arguing that citations in scholarly articles contribute to "white heteromasculinity" by ignoring research by women and people of color. They say that “white men tend to be cited in much higher numbers than people from other backgrounds,” but dismiss the idea that this is due to the relative preponderance of white male geographers. “To cite white men does a disservice to researchers and writers who are othered by white heteromasculinism,” they argue, defining “white heteromasculinism” as “an intersectional system of oppression describing on-going processes that bolster the status of those who are white, male, able-bodied, economically privileged, heterosexual, and cisgendered.” They just so happen to leave out the fact that men account for 63 percent of geography professors, and publish 73 percent of research articles related to geography. As always though, if a woman or minority is misrepresented, it has to be because they are being oppressed.

Reed College in Oregon is offering an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid trip for high school students from “historically underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds.” The program is only available to “African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander" students. Minority students are eligible to apply for the all-expenses paid trip regardless of their socioeconomic status or their need for travel assistance. Similarly, the “Women of Distinction” program at Smith College provides an all-expenses-paid campus visit for selected “African American, Asian American, Latina, and Native American students.”

Colleges should “screen” speakers to ensure that they are not giving a platform to “intolerant perspectives,” a University of Maryland student argues. Moshe Klein argues that "there are important reasons to censor speech on the campus," saying some viewpoints make certain students feel "unsafe." “There is nothing inherently wrong with screening speakers, teachers and even students on the campus. Intolerant points of view prevent certain groups of people from participating in campus life safely. There are important reasons to censor speech on the campus,” Klein asserts. He says students would be justified in tearing down “fascist white power posters” and contends that it was reasonable for Harvard to revoke the acceptances of incoming freshmen who participated in meme-sharing, because such action demonstrated “that there is no space for intolerant behavior.”

The Chicago Theological Seminary offers a video on its website designed to help white people understand their privilege by donning a metaphorical pair of "white privilege glasses." The group explain that “the racial divide will only change when white people understand the concepts of privilege and begin to identify and correct the systems that advantage one group over the other.” One of the first scenes the white person encounters is a street sign indicating “Jefferson St.” and “Washington St.” both of which transform to read “slave owner” through the lens of the white privilege glasses. In another instance, the man walks up to a police officer and gets a friendly response, only to have the officer storm away once he puts on the white privilege glasses. The video concludes with the person wearing the white privilege glasses failing to hail a taxi. In addition, the guide also asks participants to “Perform A White Privilege Audit” by taking a few minutes to “consider how White Privilege manifests itself in your life.” “Look at the pictures hanging on the walls of your home. Who is represented in your personal photographs? In paintings? Who are the artists? Do they reflect various races?” one of the prompts asks.“Look at names of the streets in your town. Or the names of local colleges. Or, even the faces on the money in your pocket. How many are white?”

Freshmen at San Jose State University now have to pay for their own mandatory diversity training, which is incorporated into a Frosh Orientation that comes with a $250 price tag. The addition of microaggressions training to the orientation was made public by Chief Diversity Officer Kathleen Wong. According to Wong, the training consists of a video of microaggression skits, filmed with the cooperation of a film class in SJSU’s on-campus studio. “Attending is required,” their FAQ page reiterates, warning, “If you do not attend or leave during any portion, you will be blocked from class registration.” Financial costs for start with a $250 registration fee and an $80 fee for each family member accompanying, and students must pay either $54 or $71 per person per night for bedrooms during their orientation.

American University sophomore Leanna Faulk has penned a letter to complain about how white people make it about themselves after a terrorist attack. The “One Love Manchester” concert benefiting victims of that city’s terrorist attack was one of her main issues with white people and their “savior complex.” She writes, “Only two of the 16 performers at the One Love Manchester concert were black: Pharrell Williams and the Black Eyed Peas. While the majority of the individuals affected by this attack were not black, it is still very important to recognize the lack of non-white entertainers asked to perform. Organizers of other benefit concerts like One Love Manchester play a role in promoting the white savior complex by allowing white individuals to speak in times of crisis.”

UC Berkeley’s SHIP, the Student Health Insurance Plan, will add two new benefits for transgender students beginning next month: fertility preservation and laser hair removal. The former is necessary as hormones used to treat gender dysmorphia can completely scramble their fertility and the latter is “critically important for transfeminine people.” Last year SHIP expanded its transgender benefits to include “male-to-female top surgery.”

A New York University librarian recently felt compelled to pen a post bemoaning the “racial fatigue” she experiences “in the presence of white people” following an academic conference. She says said that she “hit her limit” after spending five days “being splained to” by "white men librarians" and "nice white ladies." “Race fatigue is a real physical, mental, and emotional condition that people of color experience after spending a considerable amount of time dealing with the micro- and macro-aggressions that inevitably occur when in the presence of white people,” she wrote. “The more white people, the longer the time period, the more intense the race fatigue.”

A top UK university is to replace portraits of its founding fathers with a “wall of diversity” of scholars from different backgrounds following pressure from students. Kings College London is planning to remove the portraits of former university staff from the main entrance wall and replace them with BME (Black and minority ethnic) people. The proposal to exclude white scholars from the entrance wall follows criticism from students who claimed that the presence of such portraits is too “intimidating” for minorities. Professor Patrick Leman, who unveiled the plans, said that the university will swap “busts of 1920s bearded men” with more diverse scholars to ensure the institution feels less “alienating.”

#college

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sallysklar · 5 years

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Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Making Schools Business-Like: Google in Classrooms (Part 2)

Listen to Joanna Petrone, Longfellow Middle School English teacher in Berkeley (CA), describe her use of Google.

On a typical day, students start class with a warm-up activity posted on Google Classroom. After we go over their answers and I teach a lesson, I might direct my students to open Google Docs and start writing. “Remember to check Google Calendar and start studying for your next quiz! Oh, and don’t forget to turn in your writing on Google Classroom before Thursday!” I holler into the void as they pack up their bags. I’ve learned from experience that I need to specify “Google Classroom” every time I give this direction; if I don’t, if I just say “Classroom,” some students will submit their work on Classroom, some will stick it in their lowercase-c classroom notebooks, and at least one person will wander around the actual classroom while I am in the middle of an explanation, assignment in hand, wondering aloud where he was supposed to turn it in…

Petrone then goes on to say:

From one vantage point, classrooms like mine look like education technology success stories, with students’ academic learning seamlessly interwoven with the workflow habits and productivity apps of all tomorrow’s office workers. Using Google products, students can work collaboratively on files, use the internet for research, and acquire competency with the basics of personal computing. Districts often save substantial amounts of money by using Google’s services in place of their own email servers and can provide more classroom access to computers using Chromebooks than they could using pricier alternatives. In a country where public education is cruelly underfunded, there’s no mystery as to why teachers and districts are drawn to Google’s cheap, often free, education technology and curriculum, but there needs to be an honest reckoning of its real price tag and robust public discussion about whether that is a cost worth paying.

Yes, Microsoft and Apple have classroom apps that teachers use but since Google Classroom became available free of charge in 2014, it has eaten competitors in huge gulps. One journalist wrote: “The top five digital tools accessed most often in school districts in 2017-18 were all Google products—including YouTube, according to research by Lea(r)n Inc. on more than 2,000 ed-tech tools used in K-12 schools.”

So Google’s Suite of free tools (Classroom, Gmail, Drive, Google Calendar, Vault, Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, Sites, Hangouts) are in selective use across U.S. classrooms. Teachers pick and choose among the tools but their use is pervasive.*

Journalists, practitioners, researchers, and entrepreneurs claim that Google is transforming teaching and learning (see here, here, and here). But is accurate?

No, it is not.

Observers confuse increases in teacher efficiency–saving precious classroom time is what Google tools do–for substantially altering teacher planning, organizing, implementing, and assessing daily lessons, that is, the daily professional work they do. Yes, Google tools have increased teacher efficiency in managing classrooms, but much less so in the actual format and content of lessons or connections between teachers and students. Let me explain.

In studying 41 Silicon Valley teachers in 2016 who had thoroughly integrated devices and software into their lessons, these teachers did see changes in their teaching. For the most part they identified important incremental (not fundamental) changes due to technology use in lessons. These changes occurred over time, adding to their productivity as teachers in completing classroom administrative tasks, providing a broad array of sources previously unavailable to their students, and being able to respond and help students in real time.

Technology-induced changes were incremental and useful to teachers but seldom altered the goals, fundamental classroom structures embedded in the age-graded school, teacher-student relationships, basic format of lessons, or the craft of teaching that has evolved in public schools for well over a century. All of these underlying features of teaching persisted amid the classroom changes these Silicon Valley teachers recognized in their lessons.

Hillsdale High School English teacher Sarah Press expressed it clearly:

In some ways, my teaching hasn’t changed much at all. My goals are the same—to give my students opportunities to do something with the ideas I suggest to them in class, to engage with each other around those ideas and to offer lots of ways to be smart. I still have a heavy focus on literacy—sustained engagement with text and inquiry around meaning making. I continue to try to find authentic ways for students to show what they’ve learned and what they think, not just regurgitate what they’ve heard.

I also struggle with many of the same issues I always have: what to do with the huge range of skill sets in my room, how to differentiate activities and assessments to meet the needs of all learners, how to give feedback in meaningful and timely ways, how to engage all learners despite varying interests and abilities, how to create a positive socioemotional atmosphere in my classroom so students feel comfortable taking and learning from risks.

So I think it’s important to remember that technology is just one of many tools I have available to me to try to meet those goals. That said, it’s an incredibly powerful tool, and I do see some potent ways in which technology helps me get closer to being the teacher I hope to, someday, become.

A huge one is the amount of choice I am able to offer students, about what they learn and how they learn it . . . Another is the increased sense of collaboration in my room. While I have always striven to have students use each other as resources, to value each other’s expertise . . . I have not always been successful. Because technology allows students to simultaneously have access to a group project in a shared digital space that is co-editable . . . everyone can see a developing project and no can “mess it up.” It’s also easier to track exactly what each student has contributed . . .

It’s a not insignificant note here that risk-taking becomes easier to encourage when erasing or changing work is as easy as “Control + Z” or “Delete . . . ”

Finally, technology is powerful because it makes it so much easier and faster to collect, distribute, and respond to data. I find myself experimenting more and more with forms of assessment when I can instantaneously collect responses from every student in my class . . . All this helps me adjust, clarify, and re-teach in much tighter, shorter cycles than before

Press did not mention Google products by name, so I wrote her a few days ago and here is her response (she gave me permission to use her words):

I did – and do – use Google tools regularly in my class. Our district is a GAFE (Google Apps for Education) district, so most of our systems integrate with Google. All students are given Google accounts as they enter HHS, and we regularly use all of the tools that go with those accounts. I use Google Classroom as an excellent way to distribute documents, although the bulk of our digital work submission and grading is now handled through Canvas, a new system for our district this year.

So, do Google tools “transform” teaching? Time saved by using Google tools is one thing and it is important to teachers. But lesson goals, activities, content, and format continue and that is wholly another thing. Such distinctions I make are important nuances that often go unnoticed by non-teachers who from their prior experience in schools do not see the complexity of the teaching act.

How technological changes can increase teacher efficiency yet not alter substantially the familiar and continuous flow in daily lessons of goal-setting, organizing activities, elaborating concepts and content, and assessing students’ understanding is another way of simply saying that both change and stability are hallmarks of classroom lessons.

True then and true now even with the ubiquity of Google tools in the nation’s classrooms.

_________________________________

*Why does Google give away these apps free? Ads are forbidden on these tools so no revenue accrues from this source. Yes, information on students is collected and the company states that this information is owned by the school and is not sold to third parties. It took awhile for Google to comply with the federal Family Educational Value and Privacy Act, but they have (See here and here).

So what’s the advantage for Google. Short answer is that students and teachers are future customers for Google products that do charge fees and can be purchased (e.g., Chromebooks, android phones, etc.), and life-long viewers of company products where ads do show up. It is a marketing strategy that Apple used in 1984 when they gave away one Apple IIe computer (then costing nearly $2500) to every school in California (yes, also the California legislature gave a tax deduction for such a gift). Build trust in a product and you have a customer for life. As one analyst said about Google:

It’s pretty clear what motive Google has,” Williams at Gartner Research said. “This is not a product they’re selling; this is not a commercial product. It’s getting lots of people very used to working in a Google environment.

elaine April 29, 2019

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Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Making Schools Business-Like: Google in Classrooms (Part 2) published first on https://buyessayscheapservice.tumblr.com/

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richmeganews · 5 years

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Letters: ‘Who Does Homework Work for?’

The Cult of Homework

American teenagers now average about twice as much time spent on homework each day as their predecessors did in the 1990s. Whether the practice is beneficial for learning, Joe Pinsker wrote in March, is highly contested. “As many children, not to mention their parents and teachers, are drained by their daily workload, some schools and districts are rethinking how homework should work—and some teachers are doing away with it entirely. They’re reviewing the research on homework,” Pinsker wrote, “and concluding that it’s time to revisit the subject.”

I am 12 years old. In my limited experience, the major issue with my homework is that I get out of school at 2:45 and I have to go to swim team at 4:15. I know that might seem like a huge gap but it is not really. I still have to pack for swim and have my chores to do, not to mention the fact that I get home at 8:15 every night. By the time I finish my homework it’s about 10 o’clock. I am already too tired to do my homework well and I am very tired for the next day. I think if we go to school for eight hours a day, we should not have to do any more school. I also agree that homework is totally unnecessary since it does nothing but stress me out—and I can still get good and possibly better grades without homework because I can go to bed earlier and will be more awake and alert come the next day, so I can learn more.

Sicily Annmarie Hegge Elizabeth City, N.C.

As a second-year high-school teacher, I found your recent article on homework to be compatible with much of my own thinking and training on this subject. I tend to assign homework two to three times a week, usually 10 to 30 minutes a night. This was emphasized in my credential program and first-year training.

I would estimate that most sophomores I teach have about 60 to 90 minutes of homework every night if you combine my class (world history), math, English, etc. I always think intentionally about the homework I give, focusing on the purpose and value of each assignment. Your article summarized these debates well; many veteran teachers are certainly stuck in their ways when it comes to homework and curriculum in general. Homework is like any other learning tool; it works only when it is intentional, relevant, and engaging.

While your article succinctly summarizes the educational debate and history surrounding homework, it fails to fully explore the important socioeconomic and cultural differences that can lead to disparities in homework completion and sense of value. While you wrote about how white, middle-class families are often the loudest voices in education, I would have liked to see more about other types of families. Many of my students have jobs, take care of siblings, and/or participate in after-school activities. While some of these young people are high-achieving students with lots of support, others struggle to complete any homework given the physical, emotional, and mental demands they balance at school, work, and home. Still other students lack the support and “push” they need, choosing video games and YouTube over homework every night. These types of situations need to be addressed if we are to have a productive conversation about homework.

I often speak of the metaphorical “kitchen table”: that quiet, nondistracting place at home where kids can do schoolwork and maybe even get help from an educated adult. However, it also encompasses more than a mere physical space; it is having food on the table every night, access to books and the internet, and the presence of stable, loving adults. I was lucky to have that kitchen table, and it contributed to my success in countless ways. Many of my students simply do not have this space. Of course, the presence of the kitchen table is undoubtedly tied to race, class, immigration status, homeownership, mental and physical health, communal support, and a variety of other factors. But its presence or absence can forever alter a young person’s life.

Maybe the question is not “Does homework work?” but rather “Who does homework work for?”

Sam Eaton Social Studies Department John Henry High School Richmond, Calif.

Homework in my school district is not graded. My mother finds that laughable—but I don’t laugh about how much homework I still do. I still study, because I’m scared of failure. It’s not enough to eliminate homework. Eliminating homework will do little to reassure the underlying anxiety of many students. Radical reform to testing, to how we admit kids to college, and to how we view failure and success is necessary. Eliminating homework—or similar policies, like not grading it—address the symptoms of a system that bases student worth on scores, not effort and character. Maybe it’s not a question of how much: It’s a question of what environment homework is in.

Alicia Liu Hillsborough, N.J.

What this article didn’t discuss is the advent of video games and cellphones in modern students’ lives. The “free time” made available to students by reducing homework isn’t spent in a halcyon daze of getting outside to play, commune with nature, or engage in relationship-building with family or peers. Instead children while away hours immersed in their phones or video games, learning nothing and actually harming themselves physically, socially, and emotionally. At least with academic pursuits like homework, the time spent could have some meaningful effect on their future. I feel so lucky that both my children were raised (at least throughout high school) sans cellphones and with the structure and expectations of homework.

Carrie Freeman Kennet Square, Pa.

I developed the math curriculum for grades seven to 12 in Essexville, Michigan, in 1965.

Our innovative approach never referred to homework. Instead students were enabled by the methods we used to educate themselves at the pace at which they wished to proceed. Courses were divided into approximately three-week batches. Students were able to “challenge” the final exam for each batch whenever they felt ready. There was no penalty for a failed challenge; the student just had to go over the material again, then challenge once more when they felt ready again.

Some students would complete the material in the three-week period, but it was more likely to take more or less than the (artificially!) planned time. One student completed the “year” in three months; another took 15 or 16.

If there was any homework done, it was the student assigning it to himself. Sometimes parents just felt they had to push, but the school stayed hands-off. Results were in so many ways phenomenal.

Chuck Josephson Tuscon, Ariz.

When my kids were in public high school (a science-oriented lycée in France), they had about two hours of homework a night, at most three. They were in bed by 10 p.m., well rested for very densely programmed days in school. We never had to goad them to study, in part because they were self-motivated, but also because they knew how much they had to do, so it was a routine. Both of them got into their first-choice universities in the United Kingdom and thrived.

I was struck by the contrast with friends of ours in the United States: Their child, in an elite private school in Brooklyn, had so much homework that she often worked until 1 a.m. and was constantly exhausted. The assignments sounded interesting, but they were scattershot, not predictable in length, and—most important—they didn’t seem to contribute to a clear goal beyond simply working. What distinguished the French lycée—and we were very pleased with the level of general education our children got—was that the national curriculum pointed everything toward the goal of passing the baccalauréat exams at the end of high school. That meant that they knew what they had to learn, and virtually all homework was designed to contribute to that preparation. Of course, there are downsides to this kind of strict focus. For example, our elder child helped found a student newspaper, which the administration regarded as a nuisance. It is also inflexible: If you don’t fit with the plan, you’re pretty much out of luck. Nonetheless, it serves many very well, achieves high standards of education, and maintains a sane workload.

Robert J. Crawford Talloires-Montmin, Rhone-Alps, France

After reading the article, I feel that just as researchers tend to fall into two camps, students also fall into two camps: Those who would excel irrespective of homework and those who would definitely benefit from homework. Hence homework needs to be balanced to offer enough learning freedom to the former group and to instill learning discipline in the latter group.

Sandeep Khabiya San Jose, Calif.

Let’s face it. Class time is always going to be insufficient given that kids are always going to be at various levels of knowledge, intelligence, motivation, and capacity to learn. A one-size-fits-all system will either waste the time and lose the interest of the kids at the top or leave behind kids at the bottom.

Take away homework, and you subject the kids to rude surprises. Yes, they can skip the stress on a daily basis. But they will be shocked when they find a grand canyon of disconnect between what they know and what the teacher expects when they take a test.

Yes, there are types of homework that are a complete waste of time. But take away homework completely and you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Vinit Karandikar Coppell, Texas

I am 52 years old. Forty years ago, in middle school, I began refusing to do homework. I did this partly as protest, partly as a consequence of the chaos of puberty and self-creation. What I couldn’t have known at the time was that those acts of defiance would become building blocks for the man I would become. My agency was born in reaction to a bad system. I draw strength even today from my actions then. As a high-school dropout, I am a self-employed writer and consultant in the computing industry.

I salute the parents who support their children as they stumble blindly to selfhood, refusing to comply for the sole sake of compliance.

James Marcus Bach Eastbound, Wash.

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fashiontrendin-blog · 6 years

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Four Multifaceted People Unpack Their Biggest “Contradictions”

https://fashion-trendin.com/four-multifaceted-people-unpack-their-biggest-contradictions/

Four Multifaceted People Unpack Their Biggest “Contradictions”

Looking for people whose lives encompass some form of duality seems like a ubiquitous, almost easy task. Most of us engage in some daily form of shape-shifting: abstaining from the candor we’d use with friends when speaking to a grandmother; moving between professional polish and the soft, unglamorous realities of parenting; projecting or subduing aspects of our innate or acquired identities based on who’s standing in the room.

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To close out Man Repeller’s Duality Month, we talked to four individuals whose true sense of selves are divided in ways that appear to be at odds. Whether they chose their worlds or had no say in the matter; whether they embraced their disparate personas or negotiated them with difficulty and pain, we asked these people to explain the intricacies of how and why they move between multiple identities.

I live between worlds where the people in each of them can’t fathom me in a different way. I have a doctorate in nursing from UCLA, where I teach, and I do research on foster youth as they transition out of the system. I grew up in and out of foster care in Compton. My dad sold drugs, my mom was a heroin addict, and they were sometimes incarcerated.

Around high school, I started to hang out with gang-bangers — I was really just trying to survive. On the inside, I was very academic — taking AP and SAT prep classes — but I was in an urban environment where you have to have a certain amount of external bravado. Going to Howard University was a game changer. I thought, I’m going to a black college because I’m from the hood and all I know are black people. But I was not ready for upper-middle-class blacks who were like, “You said Tupac? Who’s that?” In general, I’ve found these black “elite” circles not very LGBTQ-friendly, so I didn’t really come out until very late in college, and even then I was still wearing skirts and dresses. I was trying to fit in. I didn’t want to attract attention: I was poor, struggling academically — my friends knew where they were staying for Christmas break and I didn’t. I think coming out as a lesbian happened later because it’s hard to figure out that identity when you’re like: where is my mom, dude, I haven’t talked to her in a year.

My sexual identity is probably more of an issue now that I’m on a nursing faculty whose average member is probably white and 52. I’ve fully embraced my sexuality at work, but I do dress ultra conservatively. My ankles are out; I’m in little loafers and blazers; they call me Dr. Miller. I also definitely tone down my blackness; I have to code switch. I play Erykah Badu in my office, not NBA YoungBoy. I speak and articulate differently because I think society has ingrained respectability politics into black people. I grew up with my parents saying things like, “Don’t embarrass us in front of these white people,” implying I needed to act a certain way to fit in with them. But when I’m with the black nurses, I can be more relaxed. With them, however, I’m less open about my sexuality.

When I leave work, I go back to my mostly white neighborhood, where they’ll call the police on me if they don’t recognize me. I wear basketball shorts, a backwards hat, a white tank and Jordan sandals. I party on the weekends, take Hennessy shots, go out at the clubs. I feel comfortable in both environments. I could be at a research conference sitting at the table with other PhDs, and I’m right in the middle of the conversation and feel good there. I need to sit at that table because I have great ideas. But I also feel good being with my hood friends; I feel connected to that world because it’s genuinely who I am.

Before I became a mother, I was more masculine and caught up in being a stud, which is what the black community calls a butch. Now I feel motherly; I’m very tender and gentle with my two-year-old. She brought a softness to me. I’m all about intentional parenting and I want to provide stability for her.

Now I don’t care about hiding anything. When I graduated from Howard — which is my pride and joy, by the way — I was like, “That’s the last skirt I’m wearing; I’m not going to be unhappy for anyone.” I can’t hide anymore; I have to be happy.

Paige Eden, Finance Business Analyst

I got a Bachelor of Science in business administration because it was practical, and I minored in math for fun. I then combined these skills in my Master of Science in business analytics. I really like the computational aspect of finance and that I can leverage my ability to work with large datasets to go beyond what most analysts can do in Excel. Because business analytics is an emerging field, I have a lot of freedom in terms of how I can arrive at an answer.

My work is intellectually challenging, and it tickles the logic part of my brain. That said, I don’t really have any room for creative expression, so nearly 100% of that comes from my life outside of work. I’m a radio DJ at an independent, student-run station, and every week, I play music from a different year on my show. I’m a dancer and have performed with different squads; I love tarot and the metaphysical.

It’s not that I can’t talk about my some of my interests with coworkers — like DJ-ing, for example — it’s just that I feel like even “mainstream” hobbies can make me feel uncomfortable because of the intense work culture. (My interest in tarot, however, I keep secret; I feel like it will lessen my credibility.) I’m lucky that my position gives me a good work/life balance, but most coworkers my age work at least 70 hours a week. It can make me feel guilty talking about what I do outside of work to people who don’t have the same amount of free time.

The most obvious difference in the way I live in my work and personal lives is my appearance and my scent. I love patchouli, but it won’t fly in a finance firm. Outside of work, my style is funky or grungy: a lot of bright colors and patterns, combat boots, crop tops and sleeveless shirts. At work, however, I have a “uniform” that consists of a button-down, long sleeve shirt and tailored slacks or a long skirt with stockings, heels and loafers. Everything is navy, black, white, beige or gray. I don’t remove hair anywhere on my body, so I have to keep my legs and armpits covered. What affects me the most is the undergarments I have to wear. I hate wearing bras, but at work, nipping means I have to wear a cup bra daily. It’s super uncomfortable. But I actually do agree with the thinking behind the spoken and unspoken policy that informs the expectation of my appearance at work. Someone dressed too flamboyantly sends the message that they’re not taking it seriously.

When I talk about work to my friends, it can get pretty awkward. What I do is specialized, and it can seem like I’m speaking another language. Some people straight up look at me like I’m evil when I say that I work in finance — it’s got such a bad rap. I have to remind myself that it’s not any different from working in advertising or being a model. Each of these vocations contributes to capitalism and inequality just as much as the others.

My parents emigrated from Mexico to Long Beach, CA, where my two older brothers and I were born. My father was an orphan and managed to move to the U.S., work in the restaurant industry, learn how to read and write English in his spare time and then start investing in properties. What I got from him is his work ethic, the fact that he keeps pushing. What I try to emulate from both of my parents is how caring they are. They’re super respectful and loving and genuinely care about their community.

They always treated me a little differently than my siblings, who are more masculine than I am. I started dressing in an eclectic way in high school, but I didn’t come out to my mother until I was 18, and it arose out of tension. My parents are Catholic, so their feelings stem from what the church has told them and also what it meant to be gay in their rural town in Mexico: being ridiculed and ostracized. It was intense when I came out, and my mom and I didn’t speak for several weeks. I think she associates any form of femininity with transitioning into a woman, even though I am comfortable in my identity as a man. Now, when I go home on the weekends, I avoid dressing in a flamboyant way to avoid going back to that place.

I’m probably the realest version of myself in West Hollywood, where I live. I dress in pieces that are more form-fitting; I wear a little more color or clothing that exposes my skin. I wear thicker heels, snakeskin boots, more feminine sandals. At home with my parents, I wear baggy jeans, sneakers and T-shirts I’d wear to the gym. I speak only in Spanish. I don’t flail my arms and I’m not as expressive or bombastic. We talk strictly about family and work, and I never mention my boyfriend. I don’t say “Peter and I went to this art show,” I say, “I went to this art show.” Part of my life gets omitted.

Honestly, when I’m there, it feels performative and exhausting. When I’m in a queer space — produced for queer people, by queer people — I feel energized; like electricity, like I can move forward and gain strength. When I’m with my parents, it feels like an anchor, which is exhausting but can be a good thing — it keeps me grounded. The foods I grew up eating, the huarache sandals I love, the wonderful childhood I had — they’re really a part of me. I’ve decided to make it easier for my parents because my family is really important to me and I know that, underneath, it’s not so much a criticism of my character; they just don’t understand the fluidity. The way I dress makes me feel empowered, but it’s not going to change the core of who I am.

My late grandfather was a Russian Orthodox priest in Los Angeles, and priests in the Russian Orthodox religion are viewed like celebrities. He and my grandmother followed my parents to America in the 1980s. There’s a word in Russian — rodina — which roughly means “motherland.” It’s less patriotic than it is romantic, and it characterizes how my parents thought about their country. The Russian traditions my parents instilled in me have carried me my whole life. If I don’t know anything, I know that I’m a Russian woman. I know my traditions and my language. It’s a foundation of my life.

I went to church and Russian school every weekend, and I basically knew from a very young age that I was gay. Russian Orthodox is a very reserved culture; it’s about following the rules. There are so many beautiful things about its history and traditions and art, but I don’t agree with a lot of the rules against women. Women have to cover their heads and wear skirts; they can’t go behind the altar in the church. It makes me angry even thinking about it. They can’t take communion or receive confession when they have their periods because it’s considered unclean. I thought I was unclean. When you’re baptized, you get a cross, and I never took it off, believing that I would summon the devil if I did. I hid my sexuality. It took me a long time to understand that I’m not a bad person.

I think people who don’t know a lot about Russian culture are intrigued, but I am apprehensive about bringing up the fact that I’m Russian right now. I photograph people’s homes for a living, and I don’t mention it . I don’t want them to get upset or turn on me.

After my mom passed away four years ago, I made it a point to start photographing and spending time with my grandmother, who is now 92. I don’t bring up my sexuality — she justifies all of her opinions with the Bible, and when I told her I was gay, she was terrified I would burn in hell. I wear sleeves when I visit so she doesn’t see my tattoos. I have two dresses in my closet, and they are only for attending mass with her. People gossip. Even though I wear a dress, I still don’t look how they want me to look: I don’t put on a lot of makeup and I don’t wear heels (whenever I speak the language, Russians have a moment of shock because I don’t look the part). The fact that I’m the granddaughter of a priest means I’m supposed to be a prime selection of perfection and purity. My family is considered holy, in a way, because God selected my grandfather. People revere my grandmother; they come and give gifts to her so that she’ll pray to my late grandfather to pray for their family.

My mom really wanted me to be a part of this community; it’s where she went when she needed help. Now it’s just my dad and my grandmother, and family is important to me, so I want to hold onto it.

Photos by Maggie Shannon.

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careerexpansion · 6 years

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How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety

Did I study enough for this test? Won’t my friends do better than me? If I don’t get an A now, I won’t do well on the next exam, and then will I even get into a good college?

Anxious thoughts such as these aren’t always just passing worries. They’re becoming deeply rooted, widespread mantras for young people across America. Anxiety is the most common mental health challenge that young people face, and it’s the top reason why students seek mental health services at college today. In severe cases, anxiety is stopping teens from doing homework, reaching out to friends, and even leaving their homes, and leading to depressive and suicidal thoughts.

Many anxious teens have some sort of trigger: a school subject that doesn’t come naturally, the cliques they face at school, or — hovering throughout their high school experience — pressure to apply and get into college. It can be tempting for the counselors and therapists who work with these students to remove as many of these instigators as possible, allowing students to simply walk out of class when the content gets tough, or eat lunch away from the chaotic cafeteria. But those solutions don’t usually get to the root of the problem, and in fact they can make it worse.

Instead, according a range of mental health experts, school counselors should focus on giving students the tools they need to overcome their anxiety, while fostering a school culture that embraces a sense of balance and self-regulatory skills.

A Lack of Resilience

There are a number of factors contributing to a rise in anxiety among teens. Local community trauma, poverty, and continual reports of violence from around the world can frighten young people. Social media rarely allows teens to take a break from their peers. And in many middle- and upper-middle class communities, according to psychologist Richard Weissbourd, today’s most “potent ingredient” is “achievement pressure” — the pressure to excel across academic subjects and a wide range of extracurriculars, culminating in the stress of putting together an impeccable college admissions package.

Underlying each of these factors, though, is the stark reality that many young people have too few opportunities to practice and build resilience, says counselor and educator Josephine Kim. More so than in past generations, many teens today have their basic needs met, and they haven’t had much practice making mistakes. Especially in affluent communities, their parents are hyper-involved in their academic and social lives, so it’s unusual for teenagers to study, arrange a meeting about a bad grade, or even resolve a disagreement with a friend without parental help.

When an uncomfortable or difficult situation arises, many teenagers just don’t have the skills to deal with it on their own. Instead, they worry, envision the worst, and shut down.

Coping with Anxiety

The good news is that schools are increasingly tuning in to mental health needs, and they’ve gotten better at diagnosing anxiety disorders, says school counseling expert and researcher Mandy Savitz-Romer. With that awareness, though, comes the question of how counselors should best support anxious students.

To Support Diagnosed Students

Above all, it’s important that counselors teach students to overcome their anxiety, not to escape their triggers. Anxious teens often just want counselors to help them feel safe again — but their problems will likely only escalate if they don’t learn how to cope with stress, discomfort, and panic.

While therapists do need to differentiate their approach for each young person, “the first step is usually to get the student back into class, comfortable, and able to learn,” says Newton North High School adjustment counselor Beth O’Brien. “And counselors need to give students to the tools to do that.”

O’Brien suggests that counselors start by isolating what specifically is making the student anxious, and brainstorm how to make that situation more manageable. If one class is the instigator, then the counselor can try suggesting that the student moves his seat, or talks to the teacher. These actions demonstrate to the student that he has some control over himself and his surroundings, a key factor to building resilience.

During counseling sessions, O’Brien says, the student can practice strategies to calm down and refocus his thoughts — tools he can later use in anxiety-inducing situations. “Many students with anxiety want to avoid their trigger,” O’Brien says, “but counselors should expose students to what they’re fearful of, in a healthy way that won’t induce more panic.” Strengthening these self-regulatory skills such as prioritization, focus, and mental flexibility, researchers have found, is another fundamental way to develop resilience over time.

Counselors should also set expectations for what types of accommodations students should expect, says Savitz-Romer, who is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Schools are increasingly designating safe, quiet spaces for students to retreat to when they are feeling overwhelmed. While this is a necessary support in many circumstances, counselors should also establish and communicate limits on how long each student can stay in these quiet rooms before she needs to return to class. Attending school and completing work needs to be the goal — not something to be avoided.

To Mitigate an Anxiety Culture

Anxiety isn’t an individual student issue. School leaders and counselors are increasingly reporting schoolwide “anxiety epidemics,” with large numbers of students feeling too paralyzed to work, and stress being almost celebrated as proof of achievement. Counselors can partner with principals and teachers to foster a school culture that mitigates anxiety and fosters positive mental health.

In more affluent, high-achieving schools, where pressure to excel can be debilitating, counselors can advocate for students not to overwork themselves academically. “Balance is important,” says O’Brien. If students appear particularly overwhelmed, she says, it may be best for counselors to suggest they take fewer AP or honors classes. Counselors can also encourage students to take part in outside extracurriculars that bring them “joy and a sense of self-worth” — feelings that can mitigate the stressors of intense academic work.

If students are feeling especially burnt out and nervous about college applications, O’Brien says, help them consider and explore alternative routes to a four-year college: taking a gap year, or first taking classes at a community college.

At the whole-school level, counselors can work with teachers to provide lessons on managing stress, prioritizing, and mentally switching between tasks, so that all students have an idea of how to handle feeling overwhelmed, suggests clinical psychologist Jacqueline Zeller. An evidence-backed curriculum on mindfulness and social-emotional learning can also give students, faculty, and staff shared terminology for labeling and managing their emotions, which helps ensure they’ll understand each other when problems arise.

Finally, counselors can encourage teachers to emphasize a growth mindset in their teaching, which can help students to embrace challenges, rather than feel overwhelmed by them. “Educators who take this approach offer positive encouragement that reinforces effort, as well as helpful instructional feedback on learning strategies,” says Zeller, also a lecturer at HGSE. “Helping students to have freedom to feel mistakes are part of the learning process will allow for students to focus more on developing effective strategies connected to the academic task at hand, rather than worrying about getting a perfect score on a test.”

Leah Shafer is a staff writer for Usable Knowledge, which translates education research and well-tested practices so they’re accessible to practitioners, policymakers, and parents. Usable Knowledge is based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety posted first on http://ift.tt/2tX7Iil

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bisoroblog · 6 years

Text

How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety

Did I study enough for this test? Won’t my friends do better than me? If I don’t get an A now, I won’t do well on the next exam, and then will I even get into a good college?

A Lack of Resilience

When an uncomfortable or difficult situation arises, many teenagers just don’t have the skills to deal with it on their own. Instead, they worry, envision the worst, and shut down.

Coping with Anxiety

To Support Diagnosed Students

To Mitigate an Anxiety Culture

How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety published first on http://ift.tt/2y2Rir2

0 notes

perfectzablog · 6 years

Text

How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety

Did I study enough for this test? Won’t my friends do better than me? If I don’t get an A now, I won’t do well on the next exam, and then will I even get into a good college?

A Lack of Resilience

When an uncomfortable or difficult situation arises, many teenagers just don’t have the skills to deal with it on their own. Instead, they worry, envision the worst, and shut down.

Coping with Anxiety

To Support Diagnosed Students

To Mitigate an Anxiety Culture

How Schools Can Help Students Manage and Mitigate Anxiety published first on http://ift.tt/2xi3x5d

0 notes