Topic: Update

Well…i’m in Baltimore/DC now.  My internship is starting, slowly…mostly doing a lot of reading now to catch up w/ everything they do here, and learning about what’s available.  In a couple of days I’ll start carving my niche more, and see what I can contribute.  I have 2 months to not only learn and meet people, but hopefully to accomplish something, or at least leave some sort of a mark, however small, in the world of higher education.

I’ve spent the morning reading through the report produced by the National Survey of Student Engagement.  I’m growing optimistic that such a large survey (160,000 first year and senior students from more than 470 schools) would recognize the “unacceptable waste of human potential,” but also discover that schools ARE responding by creating “pathways to engagement.” 

I see my role as two-fold…to continue to magnify the waste of human potential beyond simple statistics like, “40% of first-year students and 25% of seniors NEVER discuss class with faculty outside of class,” into things like, “I literally spent most of my four years doing the bare minimum to get by, and now, I’m struggling to find a job that I love, and I’m struggling to make sense of the world I live in.”  I think the combination of testimonials combined with statistics can provide a powerful tool to spur the changes that are occuring on campuses across America.

Second…is I hope to contribute in some way to these new “pathways of engagement.”  The NSEE survey, together with the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE…oh so many acronyms) are coming out with a book in March that highlights 20 colleges and universities that do a good job at promoting student success.  Here’s their  criteria that all these schools share:

1) A “living” missiong and a “lived” educational philosophy’

2) An unshakeable focus on student learning

3) Clearly marked pathways to student success

4) Environments adapted for educational enrichment

5) An improvement-oriented campus culture

6) Shared responsibility for educational quality and student success

I have a pretty jaded view of higher ed., because of my own experience.  Reading things like this remind me of reading my brochures for college.  How does the reality on the ground compare to this survey, I wonder?  It will take me some time to see what some of these effective schools look like, but, all I can do now is recognize that my college was not, nor is it close to being, an effective school.  While my assumption is that schools may be moving in a better direction, I am left questioning the entire enterprise of higher education.  How can a system that openly admits is not providing the best learning environments for students, continuing to obtain higher and higher enrollments?  I’m all for helping higher ed. to improve, but, I feel that while there may be new developments in how colleges operate, I believe there will also have to be new developments in regards to going to college at all.  It seems most of the reasons for going are myths…even down to getting jobs.  It’s a networking man’s world, and the most important thing is to develop yourself as much as possible as a person (travel, experiences, read, discuss, learn, work, explore, wonder, risk…why limit people to school?)

Topic: Seven Years in Tibet

I haven’t rented a movie in ages, and I don’t know what caught my eye about this one.  I’m so glad I picked it though, for so many reasons.  It spoke to me about the outdoors, mountaineering, buddhist philosophy, travel, history and war, personal change and growth, education, and, as the movie ended, I could only hope that my ignorance of anything besides the slogan “free tibet,” would be lessened just a little bit by this movie being based on actual events, and it was, which has led me to scour the internet now for resources on Tibet and the Dalai Lama, and to feel just a bit smarter than I was earlier in the day.  Once again, what 4 years of college tuition, 16 years inside a classroom, and a college degree didn’t teach me, a simple 2hr. movie (i can’t believe they charge over $4 now at Blockbuster) did the job.

I don’t know if anyone else has seen this movie, or was touched by it like I was.  Here’s a quote from Brad Pitt, who plays an Austrian mountaineer in the movie, when asked by the Dalai Lama why he loves the outdoors and the moutains so much.

“The absolute simplicity. That’s what I love.
You have a purpose. Your mind is clear. And calm. Suddenly, the
light becomes sharper. Sounds are richer. All you feel is the deep, powerful
presence of life.
I’ve only felt that way one other time before.”

What Brad P. is referring to at the end, is that he feels the same way in the presence of the Dalai Lama.  I was hoping he’d say when he fell in love with his wife…as I’ve never been in love before, but I like to think that when I do, it will feel the same as what I also experience in the outdoors.  Absolute simplicity.  A purpose.  A clear mind.  Calm.  Everything in life a little brighter and clearer, the equivalant for others of spending lots of money to buy a plasma tv and fancy sound system, except without the fancy technology.

The Dalai Lama has this insatiable thirst for knowledge, and he’s constantly asking questions and learning so many different things.  While I think he received some formal schooling later on, it appears his upbringing would be akin to homeschooling.  Unlike our Pres., he grew up with an active interest in the world, and grew to appreciate the fact that no man is free until all men in the world are free (that means both men and women of course). He also brings in a human philosophy of the world, based on Buddhist philosophy but this would not contradict our American value of separation of religion from government, as Buddhism is not based on ”god,” and the Dalai Lama does not promote his philosophy as correct because of blind faith, but rather out of the natural goodness that can be found inside any person.

Reading one of his speaches to the US Senate in 1991, I think that the Dalai Lama is a model politician because his motives are pure…and it likely comes from the Buddhist culture.  There’s a scene in the movie “Seven Years in Tibet,” I enjoyed, where Brad Pitt is trying to show off for a woman, but does not succeed.  She says something like, “That’s another difference between the Western world and our world.  In your culture, the ego is important, always trying to do something for praise.  In our culture, we admire the person who retreats from the ego.”  Here’s a quote from the Lama’s visit to the capitol:

“We need to think very deeply and hold consultations to come up with some kind of master plan for a better world. Sometimes, perhaps I think it is a little bit idealistic, but I feel our role should be based on the principles of democracy, freedom and liberty. I think the ultimate goal should be a demilitarized world. I feel very strongly about this. This may appear very far and we may face many obstacles. But I believe if we keep our determination and effort, we may find some way to achieve this kind of goal. I usually call this `nirvana’ or the salvation of humanity.

So in this respect, our entire humanity has a responsibility, particularly this nation. Among others, you have economic power, but the most important thing you have is the opportunity to utilize your human creativity. This is something very good. Therefore, I think America has the potential to make this world straight. Certain activities or certain atmospheres are unhealthy and seem to be very crooked. I think in order to make them straight and more honest, with more human feeling, this nation has the real potential and the ability to correct those smaller nations trying to change the world, but the existing pattern may face some immediate consequences which they cannot face. I think this nation is the only superpower. Therefore, I think you have the opportunity or ability to change it.”

Knowing what we know from the recent US election, that a president can get elected on rhetoric alone, who will run for the Democratic ticket (until a 3rd party gets legitimate attention, i think) who can say these things?  First of all…this is some damn inspiring language.  Lama (I hope he doesn’t mind me calling him that) has more faith in America than most Americans do that we can use our superpower status to create a better world order for all.  Second of all, these values and words are more aligned with liberal, rather than conservative, politics. I’m not saying we need to adopt a Tibeten philosophy where worms and all living things should be valued as people are (although it’s a sound belief) but, we should certainly adopt a philosophy where killing actually feels repulsive, and therefor, killing will only be used in self-defense. Maybe Saddam could have been linked to al-Qaeda, maybe he might have had weopons of mass destruction, maybe in a couple of years he might have thought of attacking America, BUT, by keeping a good eye on them, and by keeping whatever pressures on them as necessary to not harm us, it’s likely that we wouldn’t have had to harm Iraq as we are now, killing tens of thousands of Iraqis, both Saddam loyalists and innocent civilians alike.

How can I so openly talk about my ignorance, especially when the world ignorance has such a strong connotation of “being a stupid ass idiot?”  Well…first of all, because I just looked up the word ”ignorant,” which means “lacking in knowledge and training,” and therefor I am no longer ignorant of what the word ignorant actually means, and therefor, I can comfortably discuss my ignorance of history, politics, and several other important world issues because I’m simply admitting what I don’t know. (perhaps a euphemism for the word would do us good in helping others to admit their own ignorances and begin to fix the education gaps that exist).  Anyways…it bothers me that I am ignorant, but it worries me that an gynormous amount of people are unknowingly ignorant, or apathetic about their ignorance. 

I’m reading a book that addresses this pheonomenon called, “Lies My Teacher Told Me.”  She writes, “five-sixths of all Americans never take a course in American history beyond high school.  What our citizns “learn” in high school forms much of what they know about our past.”  She goes on to explain what what they learn in high school is pretty pitiful, and since it never gets addressed, people enter their adult lives ignorant.  That’s a huge friggin’ problem…and it just revealed itself almost a month ago on election day.  I think another part of the problem, is our Western philosophy of education versus what might be described as a Buddhist/taoist view of education.  Since our education is grade, credit, and degree oriented, plus all the other notions of success including honor rolls, deans lists, and other academic awards, Western education does not prepare students to learn, “for the sake of learning,” rather, for some other purpose.  I’m sure my good pal Lama would support education that has no beginning or end, or the life-long learner that we say we want, but our system of education works directly against.

Along that same line of thought, I think there’s a huge problem occuring to me now about our Western culture.  Since our lives are divided up, elementary school, middle school, up to college and grad school, when we do finally enter that second half of our lives, we enter it as isolated individuals.  We are no longer part of a school system with clearly defined values in goals…instead, we’re part of a system that for most of us leaves us following materialistic goals only.  There was an ad in today’s NYT that was absolutely shocking to me…the Statue of Liberty w/ a gold watch, and it said, “sure, liberty is important, but not that special unless you’re wearing some fine jewelry.”  I don’t think a single ad undermines our real goals, but it just highlighted how far off any spiritual path our country has headed.  I realized today, as my own family headed off to the malls at 6am to catch the big sales, and as most of the daily conversation and much of the news today was dedicated to this rush to shop, that, I’m not in a place to criticize, and so, I instead find myself feeling all weird and anti-social around people as they discuss these things, and I’m torn between playing along and wanting to shout out as I eventually did when watching a woman on tv get trampled as a mall opened, “THIS IS FUCKIN’ SICK!”  I do worry about isolating myself from those mainstream things in life that are necessary to connect myself to most people (i don’t go to the movies often, i don’t follow sports like i did as a kid, i don’t shop, i don’t watch reality tv, i don’t follow celebrities lives) but, i’m realizing that i find it very easy to connect with non-Americans (i love talking about culture, i follow soccer, the most popular sport in the world, etc).   As far as the media affecting how we live our lives, as former green party Presdential candidate Jello Biafra says, “don’t blame the media, become the media,” and I think when people start to get a whiff of common sense media, fun media, inspiring and educational media, such as the Daily Show, people will begin to take off their blinders and start examining their lives and the world around them.

Topic: Links…comments will come later

This ad was in today’s New York Times…

www.mymoralvalues.com

The following article can be found on the American Democracy Project website of the New York Times college section (that’s where my internship starts Monday!!!)

http://www.nytimes.com/college/collegespecial2/

Survey Gauges College Experience

By BECCA GARRISON, Cavalier Daily, U. Virginia

Published: November 16, 2004

(U-WIRE) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Step aside Princeton Review — the next generation of college applicants may change their selection from the school with the best parties to the school with the best student engagement.

The National Survey for Student Engagement, released this week, is a yearly chance for institutions nationwide to find out what their students are getting out of their college experience, NSSE Senior Associate Director John Hayek said.

For instance, this year’s survey shows that while 81 percent of students are getting mostly As and Bs, they are studying on average half as much as professors believe they should be.

The survey also found that 40 percent of first year students and a quarter of seniors never discuss ideas from their classes with a professor outside of the classroom.

Student engagement comes in two forms, Hayek said. The first is the amount of studying and work towards learning performed by students and the second, the part NSSE focuses on, is the way institutions “promote practices that get students engaged,” Hayek said.

The data collected in surveys of 472 different institutions reflected opinions of first and senior year students. Engagement is based not only on preparation for class, but the class’s involvement in the community and students’ motivation to continue learning outside of the classroom.

The University of Virginia was involved in the survey in 2000 and 2002, but has not participated since.

Hayek said it is common for institutions to participate every few years because results are very similar from year to year and “it takes a while for meaningful change to happen.”

First-year College student Sarah Lunsford said the University’s academic environment is not as encouraging as it should be.

“I don’t discuss ideas outside of a classroom,” Lunsford said. “I think that professors reinforce the availability of office hours but generally, they do not provide the most welcoming environment from which students can feel comfortable seeking help.”

Hayek said the survey is meant to spur discussion about solutions to student disengagement.

The results from NSSE have inspired such programs as “learning communities” in which a small group of first year students study a focused subject while living in close quarters.

“Research tells us that commonalities allow students to engage more in their educational process within the first year,” Hayek said.

Other statistics from this year’s survey mention that almost a quarter of all students never attend cultural and performing arts events during the year, while a solid quarter does frequently. Also, the number of students who have serious conversations about social, political and religious views has increased 10 percent in the last five years.

“No single survey would be the sole basis for making decisions about new programming, policies or other changes,” said Virginia Carter, director of external affairs for the University’s Student Affairs Office.

These statistics will be used nationwide to aid institutions in improving their student engagement levels, Hayek said.

And…it turns out the author who managed to engage me in a 700 eye-opening read of US history, is still actively writing about US politics, here’s a link

http://www.progressive.org/nov04/zinn1104.html

 

Topic: I think i’ll muse on life for a bit…isn’t that a good use of xanga

It took me 90 hours to get home for Thanksgiving.  I left Whistler, British Columbia, at 1pm on Sat., and spent the rest of Sat., Sun., Mon., Tues., and part of this morning on a bus.  Would I be eager to do it again right now…no.  But, all in all, the time went by, as time has a funny way of doing.  I saw about 5 movies, the highlights being I, Robot (which made me think from the comfort of my bus watching a sci-fi movie, “wow, i can’t believe human beings actually kill other human beings, and i won’t say more w/out ruining the movie) and Miracle (about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, I cried at the end).

I also finished reading “A People’s History of the United States,” by Howard Zinn.  Almost 700 pages, the longest book I’ve ever read, the first history book I’ve ever read cover to cover, and certainly the first history book I’ve read for my own purpose, not for a test or paper.  And, not surprisingly, I learned a lot, and I discovered that history is pretty interesting, especially when your own country turns out to be a split personality evil villain / patriotic wonderful country.

I’ve struggled w/ the idea of wasting my 4 years of college…I wanted to become intelligent, and to grow to have a better understanding of the world.  As Matt Damon said in Good Will Hunting, “you wasted $120,000 on an education you could’ve got for $1.50 in late fees to the public library.”  Well…I actually bought the book for $20 instead of getting it from the library, but remarkably enough, reading this one book has done for me educationally what 4 years of random college classes did not.  It’s shown me the truth about America that was different from my belief that we were a genuinely “good country,” while other countries could be classified as “bad.”  It also showed me that learning history is so important to understanding the world today, and when students, especially in high school, say things like “history is boring,” or “i’m not good at history,” what’s really happening is we’re allowing something so important to be regarded as one of many subjects, and therefor, one to be disregarded by students…we’re also showing that we are doing a disservice to both kids and citizens by using force-fed education to turn people off to learning history. 

While I consider myself lucky to have decided to educate myself after finishing my formal education, most people won’t.  While I can now have a conversation w/ my dad about history, since he knew all this stuff already, I can’t have this conversation w/ other friends and family.  They all got through school w/out being turned onto history, and they may for the rest of their lives never learn some of the ugly events that mark US history.

The fact that America, the country that is now using the justification of “spreading democracy and freedom,” as a basis of war, literally makes me want to fuckin’ puke my guts out.  America, a country that has in the past aided in the overthrowing of governments that were as democratic and free as we were, but they believed in a different economic system than us…in fact, they believed in a system, socialism, that we continue to look at like a white person who walks down the block and clutches onto their wallet as they see a black person walk by.  We’ve been ingrained with this fear, when in fact, the socialist system is more representative of the values we have as Americans.  America has chosen capitalism for 200+ years, and the results have never been pretty for the many have-nots in our society.  And…after spending the past week in Canada, I have to say that their system of socialized medicine not only allows people to live less in fear of getting sick than here in America, but has also created a culture where people are willing to share what they have in order to help others.  Americans generally believe the same thing, but politicians have twisted our values into ugly words like, “welfare,” and “socialism,” so we don’t see the policies that in actuality we want to see.

I had a brief chat w/ my dad today.  He works a few weeks a month as a banker, and does pretty well money wise.  In fact…hearing the numbers just kind of punched me in the face, since I’m scraping bottom off of my summer camp salary, and the work I’ll be doing the rest of the year will be a mixture of part-time junk work, and Outward Bound which does not pay very highly.  My dad made me feel that I need to start thinking differently in terms of work in order to make the money that I need.  But…what do I need?  I keep forgetting, that I personally live in a culture of simplicity, a minimalist lifestyle, that differst greatly from that of my friends and family.  My dad is 60…and while after this year, he will hopefully have many years of fun vacations, and the freedom to purchase whatever his heart desires, I also realize, that life is funny when it comes to health.  The mother of one of my friends in Whistler suddenly came down with cancer and isn’t doing so well.  There’s no guarantees about how long we live…and so I cannot live a life that is geared towards doing in doing work throughout my life in order to make money in order to do the things I truly love when I retire.  I think back to the things I’ve done this year, including living in South Africa for 6 months…surely that didn’t cost a lot of money, in fact, it was quite cheap!  While…on the surface, having a lot of money is so very luring (one of my friends is expecting a $15,000 Christman bonus, it was hard not to feel jealous) I realized that for the most part, by being a minimalist and living for the moment, I am able to live a rich life while basically, being poor!  And, while I would never turn down a job that paid well, I hope I will never do work that leaves me feeling anything but rich on the inside.

I hate coming back to my hometown.  I went out tonight w/ my one friend who comes back home…grabbed a beer, caught up, but there is nothing for me in the local “scene.”  All it is is bringing back memories of highschool, and I honestly have few fond memories of that time of my life.  I remember sitting home on certain Friday nights, or sitting on instant messenger for hours…there was just nowhere to go, and I had nobody really to talk to.  Sure, I had people to go out and get drunk w/, but there’s a reason why we grow out of that phase of our lives…because while it’s fun, we need something more from people, and even in highschool, I knew I wanted to get something more from people than just getting drunk and roaming the streets for “something to do.”  What I didn’t get in highschool, I got more of in college, and I’m getting an abundance of in my travels.  I felt like I had reached a great state when in Whistler, my friends and I cooked dinner, had a bottle of wine, and chilled in front of the fireplace just talking the night away.  The desire for a wild night is the same as the desire to get rich, they are hollow desires.  A night of good conversation can leave you feeling almost like you’d been drunk all night.

It’s strange, how little I have in common with the culture I grew up surrounded by.  At dinner w/ family friends tonight, I found myself in my usual role as having not a single thing to say.  I’m not always a deep person, but some of the things my parents talk about seem so trivial to me.  New siding on the house, traffic on the roads, community happenings.  I guess my feeling bored around my parents is also a partial reflection on myself…but I struggle to digest how I feel so full of life around some people, and so empty around others.  It’s this strange balance between being someone who is really trying to do some crazy things with his life, to someone who is a complete joke.  I can’t fully explain myself to certain people because it would in some ways put to question the lifestyle of others, and so I often find myself struggling to have my true identity when i’m around certain people.  anyways…it’s late, i’m gonna grab a bowl of Life cereal, and call it a night.  Turkey day is upon us!!!

Today is actually day #15, i started a writing streak in my actual journal on Nov. 6th, a day when I re-remembered that I should try to get something from everyday.  So…w/ that in mind, what did I get out of today?

Went for a 40min. run this morning.  I’ve been pushing myself to travel, to learn, to find a job I love, to read, to be more social, all over the last few months, but in that time, I have done nothing to push myself physically.  This pisses me off, as a person who loves the outdoors, sports, and the good feeling both physically and mentally from being an active person.  Luckily, my friend Morgan is an avid runner, and dragged me along these last two days…the first days back into fitness are always painful, but I need to keep this streak of fitness going.  I’m a common sense guy…you don’t want to be fat, ask yourself, are you living an active lifestyle? Anyways…the runs in Whistler are beautiful, snowy mountains, makes it easier than running around the suburbs.

In the afternoon, we walked into Whistler villiage.  I haven’t bought cd’s in years since the age of burning, but needed some new stuff for the 3+ day busride that begins for me tom., heading back home to Long Island, NY for turkey day.  So…what’d I buy?  Donavon Frankenreiter who I never heard of, but actually have seen play w/ Jack Johnson.  Soundtrack of the movie Igby Goes Down…just remembered liking it…Ben Harper, Welcome to the Cruel World…and the Bueno Vista Social Club, for some sweet latin tunes…but, I’ll tell you one highlight you should all look into.  Jello Biafra “become the media” it’s spoken word.  I learned about this guy on another Greyhound busride…he was once a green party nominee for president.  This guy is funny, entertaining, smart, and passionate.  He hits you w/ all the common sense you can handle. 

This week in Whistler has been amazing…in a large part because of the friends I’ve spent time w/.  These two girls I met when in South Africa, have outlooks on life that I’ve never encountered before at home.  You just can’t compare them most college girls, or guys.  Tonight, I cooked my famous lasagna, we had some wine, talked about our travel experiences, and our goals for the future.  I think it may even be a Canadian thing…they’ve never been driven to go to college, and instead have forged their own identities.  There’s no sense of the need to impress, just completely being ourselves all week. I’ve been hiking, talking about life, just being able to basically be the person that I am in Xangaland, the person that I rarely get to be with people.  I’m not good at putting things like this into words, but, the experience and my friends were great…and that was worth trying to write about them. 

Man…the real world really kicks the shit out of college.  Real people are just, well…way more real.

I predict the rest of this year will be a personal effort for me to continue to move towards my desired lifestyle…to befriend people w/ similar values and interests as me, to live in beautiful outdoorsy places, to be physically active and doing bad-ass things like mountaineering, climbing/bouldering, white water canoeing, you name it.  I want to start getting excited about music again, and seeing more live shows (OAR and John Butler Trio are playing the day after thanksgiving in NYC…i need to get my arse to that show)

Anyways…i won’t be able to post for the next 3 days…if you’re curious where i’ll be, go to greyhound.com and check out the route from Vancouver to New York, i leave Whistler to Van. tom afternoon, and leave to NY at around 6pm tom…

Heblucas…when you get this, i hope you’re working on that article for StudLife
Friends and family (oddly enough…i don’t know if any really check this, i think you xanga strangers know more about me than most people) will see you Thankgiving weekend
Everyone else…will hopefully catch up over next weekend… I appreciate all of your comments, and those who read but don’t leave comments, i can think of a couple of people, i hope i’m still keeping you entertained while you’re at work…

and he’s ON THE ROAD again…

-Dan

Day #12
Whistler update

Just got back from a lovely evening.  Saw my first “pantomine,” or cross-dressing play…the people of Whistler re-did Cinderella in an interesting way, the prince was an Australian who came to work illegally in Whistler, the faries were all men in pink…let’s just say it was funny.

Today, went for a morning run in the snow, went to visit Outward Bound Canada…the possibility of being a sea kayaking instructor is in my eyes.

Really enjoying the community feel here, the outdoors is just amazing, did some hiking also today.  Feeling really alive these days…

Day #11
A thought-provoking article, and a wonderful day in Whistler

Work hard, play hard, die young

Media Credit: Yu Araki

“There is a certain work hard, play hard mentality-it may not always be a good mentality,” said Alpha Epsilon Phi president Sara Kaufman about Greek life.

I go further: work hard, play hard is always a destructive mentality. And it’s unfortunately prevalent throughout campus.

Here’s how I see the equation: academic stress and competitiveness (“work hard”) lead to unhealthy efforts to diffuse the stress, often via alcohol and drugs (“play hard”). Alcohol and drug abuse are inherently unhealthy, resulting in deaths from alcohol poisoning or drug overdose (“die young”).

Additionally, the stress caused by “work hard” leads to depression in students; “play hard” masks the severity of stress and depression, making it harder to intervene on students’ behalf before they commit suicide (“die young”). Furthermore, alcohol abuse directly contributes to suicide, according to a November article in the psychiatric newspaper CNS News.

Denton et al. (2003) reported a profound increase in stress from academic pressure from 1988 to 2000. Nine percent of students reported academic distress in 1988, while a whopping 35 percent reported academic distress in 2000. Reports of distress from depression nearly doubled, to 41 percent. The National Mental Health Association says 10 percent of college students have been diagnosed with depression; many more students are probably undiagnosed.

The “play hard” part of the equation masks depressive symptoms, unfortunately. Loss of quality sleep? Chalk it up to the hangover. Not feeling like going out? Nothing a few shots can’t cure. Anxiety? A glass of wine will fix that. It is almost impossible, when everyone is playing hard, to notice a depressed friend self-medicating.

Now, depression wouldn’t be as big of a problem if it weren’t one of the major risk factors for suicide. And suicide is the second most common cause of death among college students, claiming 7.5 of every 100,000 lives, according to the Jed Foundation, a college mental health group. Denton also found that suicide attempts have more than doubled since 1988 among college students.

To keep students from dying young, we can get rid of “play hard,” so that mental health professionals can treat the problems and so we can avoid alcohol poisonings. Or, we can get rid of the root problem, “work hard,” that causes this stress in the first place.

Dr. Alan Glass, director of Student Health and Counseling Services, agreed in a press release that depression is the largest health problem facing college students, and that academic stress is a key part of the problem. But his solution, an increase in the availability of mental health resources on campus, treats the symptoms rather than the core problem.

The administration overall also seems to think “play hard” is the problem, as evidenced by their Greek alcohol moratorium and their reduction of alcohol across campus in recent years.

Again, “play hard” is merely a symptom of an underlying problem: “work hard.” Getting rid of “play hard” means curing “work hard” first. So while I certainly support increasing mental health awareness and resources on campus, the ultimate solution is going to have to address concerns of academic stress caused by the University.

For starters, it can reduce students’ workload by cutting the standard schedule from 15 credits to 12. Arts and Sciences can reduce Dean’s List requirements to allow students taking 12 credits to earn this distinction. And it can eliminate intra-student competitiveness by eliminating curved grading.

It could also take a cue from peer institutions, and make the first semester or two of college strictly pass/fail. The first year is already a period of high stress given the transition to college life, and worrying about GPA is one more stressor students don’t need.

Saving students from intubations or the morgue will require much, much more than cracking down on “play hard.”

I’m glad I saw this article for a few reasons.  First of all, it highlights the biggest problem of higher education in America today.  It is quite literally working kids too hard, making them depressed, suicidal, or at the very least, unhappy about life.  This, my friends, is the #1 problem, and as we choose to recognize the problem, we will have to confront the root of the problem that Roman noted in his article, the concern of “academic stress caused by the university.”

My entire purpose in life right now is to reduce that academic stress.  I recently proposed an education forum at Wash U (i opted to relax here in whislter instead, which i needed and am enjoying thouroughly), i sent an e-mail to Roman and the rest of the Wash U. newspaper about my ideas for Wash U.  One such idea, “cutting the number of credits from 15 to 12 to lighten student workload.”  I don’t know if Roman read my e-mail…but oddly enough, my last 2 articles were not published, and my last e-mails to Roman were not responded to.  Perhaps a conspiracy to cut me out of publication…while my ideas still find their way into print in other people’s words?  (I’m just having some fun here).  Well…i’ve e-mailed him one more time about writing weekly for Stud Life.  If they’re serious about change, they should want a person like me in the paper weekly, reminding people that change requires action, and change requires pissing people off enough to take action.

While Wash U. will probably continue down a negative slope, I am hoping to bring the larger issue of the damage done by college on both the mental health of students, as well as the intellectual health whereby students aren’t really learning anything, which is bad for democracy (we need less ignorant people, not more) as well as for the future health of these students after college, to the attention of the AACU.  I’m more optimistic about the AACU speaking out about the need for real change, than any political party, because we’re dealing w/ students, and the AACU is concerned about students.

Anyways…i enjoyed a day of none-education thinking.  Went on a beautiful hike, by the snowy Whistler and Blackcomb mountains which open for skiing this weekend.  Talked about life w/ my friends, about travel, jobs, money, homes, friends, family…basically, everything.  Everyone is struggling to understand life, and while education and politics continues to ignore it, I’m glad to have friends who i can talk about it to.

oh…and went to a pottery class last night, what fun!!!

 

Day # 9/10, the streak of writing and living continues

Let me start with some questions:

-does anyone know what’s going on in Iraq?  Who are we fighting against, the Sunni’s is it, Saddam’s old party?  Would this be comparable to a country who hated the US (take your pick) going to war not just to kill Bush, but to try to kill every Republican? And then, to help us have an election so we now have one party to choose from?

Well…Monday was spent on a bus all day.  I lied, and I’m actually in Whistler now, not Vancouver (they’re about 2hrs apart).  I had one good conversation on the bus, a high school junior from Oregon, her school just got a Gates grant of $1,000,000+ I think to move towards being a small school.  The conference I just went to in San Fran. was all about those schools, so, it was pretty funny coincidence (I don’t believe in fate or anything, she could have said any number of things like, “hey, I like Seinfeld,” and I’d say what a small world).  Anyways…this girl, 16, was way too smart for highschool.  Any student who thinks about politics while in high school, should be exempt from going to highschool!!!  That would be my first policy as chief of education or whatever…I mean, this girl has struggled w/ tests, is bored in school, but she’s already thinking like an adult.  Her father has parkinsons. “I can’t understand how people can vote against stem-cell research.”  Her brother lived in Kzykistan near Afghanastan, “The people in Kzykistan were at war w/ Afghanastan, and when troops stopped arriving, that might have been a sign that Afghanastan was preparing their troops for something else, like a war with the US.”  I forgot she was even in highschool for a while, and we talked about a whole range of topics, including the educational system.  The main difference between us, was that this girl would still be in school for another 6 years before being anything but a student.

The case for school is getting weaker.  I spent much of the busride reading the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU’s) report, “Greater Expectations” which is all about their vision for what college needs to look like.  It was pretty inspiring, and recognized that going to college is almost becoming universal in America, and also recognizing, that the quality of a college education is flawed in many areas.

Here arises the great contradiction.  75% of Americans are going to college, supposedly because the world is more complex, and other such reasons.  College is supposed to make students better thinkers, communicators, problem solvers, (as most would say), and they make it sound as if college alone can do this like going to the gym can give you muscles.  The problem with this, is that while the AACU believes that more students are going to college to gain the skills necessary for life, they are also recognizing that college is currently doing a poor job at giving those skills to its students.  So…it would seem, that while people may need these new skills, people are mistakingly going to college as a means to achieve those skills.

The way I see it, the AACU is trying to create a bold new vision of college, and I respect that.  They’re trying to bring together the innovative ideas that are currently happening at schools around the countries.  Schools w/ good advisigin systems, with experiential curriculum, with portfolios instead of grades, with mandatory study abroad componants, with internship componants, etc. 

However, I learned something important at the Coalition of Essential Schools conference this weekend.  There are 2 ways to improve schools in America.  One is to change existing schools by making them smaller and focussing on the individual student more than general content, and the second is to create new schools, to create new alternatives than putting students in these less than ideal educational systems.  The move to change schools is definately the longer, harder, and more treacherouse route.

So…what are high school graduates to do?  If we are to learn from the examples of highschools, the movement of colleges from the traditional collect-your-credits and graduate system, is going to be long.  Also…it’s going to be difficult, as teachers in K-12 can at least be trained to help students, while currently, teachers in colleges (who we call professors, which has a huge effect on how we preceive them as educators) are almost purely trained in their subject.  College professors aren’t trained to help students learn.  That’s one of those dirty little secrets of higher education.

Anyways…as I said the other day, I’m optimistic that things will change.  However, I’m not sure I’ll see colleges change much in my lifetime.  I’m more optimistic about students pursuing different things than they currently are.  When I’m in DC, working with the AACU and AASCU, I hope to see if we can’t begin to encourage Americans to take a year off, (gap year) between high school and college.  I’d also like to see the AACU be more vocal about their views on the US News rankings (they hate the rankings, in fact, they managed to create a new ranking…which they didn’t mean to be a ranking, but a list of schools that do innovative things, so students will realize that one of the best colleges in America is more likely to be Evergreen State in Olympia Washington than my #11 ranked school, Washington University in St. Louis).

Well…last night, I finally arrived in Whistler.  I met up with my two friends, Morgan and Erin.  Funny thing is, we’ve only seen each other once.  We met in a hostel in South Africa, and hung out for a day there.  We exchanged e-mails, as is customary, and said, “if you’re ever in the area, come on down.”  We e-mailed a few times over the last few months, and since I happened to be in San Fran, which is “in the area” of Whistler, being a 29 hour bus ride, I decided to come on down.

We had a great dinner last night…and great conversation.  Neither Erin or Morgan went to college, in fact, there’s definately not the same pressure as in America.  The only obvious reasons we could think for going were to gain credibility for a job, although even that appears to be questionable.  The two have done lots of travelling over the past four years, working odd jobs to pay their way.  Living in a place like Whistler has naturally made them outdoorsy, and I think has had a great affect on their life philosophies. 

There’s definately something unnatural about spending your days in an office, or stuck inside a house or apartment.  All people grow up loving to just play…yet we’ve marginalized that part of our lives to the 1 or 2 weeks of vacation we get, or the weekends.  That’s my biggest struggle, I’ve friggin’ worked for Outward Bound, the oldest or at least the most well-known outdoor education organization probably in the world, and i haven’t done anything outdoorsy in months.  When it comes to choosing the geography in which I live one-day, there’s no doubt I will live somewhere within minutes of the mountains.  And, I grew up afraid of this…afraid to break away from Long Island, or NYC.  Hellz no…will I ever settle in one of those places.  I’m even a little un-easy about spending the winter in DC, as I know any efforts to be outdoorsy will require a lot of work on my part, but ultimately, I want to live in a place where myself, my gorgeous wife, and my children, will not have to worry about how to play, because when your backyard is the mountains, you never run out of inspiration for being young and having fun.

-also…had my crotch sniffed by a drug smelling dog at the US-Canadian border.  How do they teach dogs to smell for drugs?  Do they put drugs in their food or something?

Day #8: Consecutive making-the-most out of everyday streak…

There were some definate highlights today, the last day of the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Fall Forum.

Went to a workshop called, “Higher ed reform,” run by the Association
of American Colleges and Universities.  I was lucky that very few
people showed up, so it was 4 of us, plus the two facilitators who work
for the AACU.  It was interesting to learn that the organization
has just come out with a report on how they want colleges and
universities to radically re-think what’s going on…to take on an
approach more in-line with the reform efforts being done at high
schools, especially those who are part of the Coalition of Essential
Schools (CES).

What inspired me a lot, was hearing my thoughts on education
re-affirmed by the governing body of higher ed. for over 900
schools.  Here are some quotes from the people who work there:

“colleges are arrogant,”
“The fact that some students get wonderful college experiences, and
others walk away having HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES, is the dirty secret of
higher education.”
“We are experiencing some horrible unintended consequences of
market-driven education…there is corruption to sell a product at the
expense of the students’ education.”

It was good to see my frustration shared.  They have also been
doing their own research into innovative schools, and have even managed
to get US news and world reports to have a new ranking of schools with
innovative qualities, although even that has been spun into a crazed
marketing tool, rather than aiding students in making smart decisions.

I’m now looking forward much more to my internship w/ the American
Association of State College and Universities…i’m ready to give them
a no-bullshit reason why schools are not doing what they’re supposed to
be doing.

Heard a speaker from the Oakland school district talk about equity in
schools…they’re working to make small schools as a means to improve
quality of education, and to work towards a day when you can’t tell
test scores apart by race or class.  They kept reminding people
that this is the 50-year anniversary of Brown vs. Bd. of Education, but
we still have a long way to go, in fact, we’ve regressed in the last 10
years.

Topic: Re-thinking life

I’m realizing, that growing up,  I was never taught anything was
wrong.  Therefor, I took things for granted, such as, “we live in
a functioning democracy,” such as, “the struggle for equality is no
longer an issue,” things like that.  It was like, there were all
these struggles for progress, and they ended before I was born.

Oh…how wrong I was…I’m realizing that this country we live in was
founded in an injust way, and we have been trying over the last 200
years to work towards a more just society.  The year 2004 is just
the middle of the journey.  Some people probably got frustrated by
the election results, saying, “democracy doesn’t work,” this presuposes
that it was working before.  Democracy is working the same as it
has been for years, people just don’t realize the history.  People
also look at the current situation as dire, and don’t realize that it’s
always been dire, in fact, we’ve actually made it less dire over
time.  “If the world was able to overcome slavery, Apartheid, the
fall of the Berlin wall,” one speaker said, “then there’s no question
we will continue to produce a more humane world.  My grandmother
lived in much more difficult times than these, we have it easy, so we
have no excuse to get down that things are never going to change.”

So…that’s my new take on it.

Also…met a fellow Long Island jew from Long Island who fled to
Montana after college and hasn’t looked back, told me it’ll take time
to break the inertia of my upbringing to forge a life under my own
rules and values.  That was confidence boosting.

To Vancouver tom. yee-ahh!!!

Day #7

Working backwards.  Got back to the hostel…Friday nights they
have free dinner, i enter the ballroom to see 50-60 people already
eating.  Had some Shepherds pie, chatted w/ an English bird who
just quit her job to take a year traveling the world.  After the
delicious and free communal dinner, I did my communal civic duty and
helped Dina, the Russian who works the kitchen, clean all the pots and
pans.

So…today was day 1 of 2 at the Coalition of Essential Schools fall
forum.  I’m tired and exhausted, and am struggling to process the
day.  there were some highlights.

Got to see Dennis Littkey speak.  He founded The Big Picture
Company and MET schools.  These schools are 50 years
futuristic.  Students actually do real work.  They have
internships 2 days a week.  They have one-on-one advising to
develop personalized learning plans.  They don’t study for tests
(yet they score higher than those schools that do).  Imagine all
of this, and now you have students that function as adults.  One
students said, “I actually love going to school…no seriously, I
do.”  Try getting a student to say that at a traditional school.

Got to hear an organization speak about the need to ammend parts of No
Child Left Behind…will be doing my homework on that, in 2007 the bill
goes up for a vote again.  Some say that the bill, which has
certain clauses that almost force schools to fail, is a way to begin
the movement to charter schools, crippling the public school
movement.  More to learn, but interesting.

Met lots of educators today, from all sorts of schools w/ different
hopes and facing different problems.  Spoke to one high school
senior from Oakland whose school just broke up into 6 smaller learning
communities.  “Small schools just work better, everyone looks out
for each other.”

It’s kind of exciting to be around the celebrities of education. 
All sorts of authors, policy experts, and in a way, all of these
teachers who are here to make significant changes in the way their
schools operate.  Sadly, public policy will effect the success of
this particular reform movement…but, they are working to make the
important changes to re-frame the debate on education.

Quite sleepy now…more forum tomorrow, including a chance to network
with the American Association of Colleges and Universities, who are
doing a forum on higher ed. reform, and are closely related to the
organization I’ll be interning for this winter, the American Assocation
of State Colleges and Universities. 

-dan