19. April 2009 by student.

There is a U.S. teacher shortage as baby boomers retire and the No Child Left Behind law raises standards for new teachers. There are some really terrific talented people getting into teaching, the issue is that there are not enough to cover the shortage. School systems across the country report a growing scarcity of qualified recruits. Three-quarters of the more than 3 million public school teachers are women, a figure that has changed a little during the last 40 years. But during this time, women have become more educated, have more career choices and better salaries than in the past. The growing demand for new teachers is due largely to two trends. The K-12 student enrollments are expected to grow substantially in the years to come. As this happens, large number of teachers who were hired during teh baby boom enrollment years will be reaching retirement age. Also, a big problem is the increased dissatisfaction with the teachin profession and this has been caused by poor school conditions, lack of administration support and low salaries overall for the profession.

Many school systems, are already experiencing difficulities in filling teacher vacancies, and these shortages are particularly acute in urban and rural schools in the fields of bilingual education, special education, and in the subject areas of math and science. In addition, the growth racial/ethnic imbalance between the student population and the teaching force suggests that the shortage of teachers of color also exists. While students of color make up a little more than one-third of the total enrollments, teachers of color make up a little over 10 percent of the teaching force.

Teacher shortages are problematic because they present a serious threat to the quality of education that children receive in schools. When the supply of teachers is scarce, school systems cannot be selective in their hiring. When faced with large numbers of teacher vacancies, districts often resort to undesirable practices, such as assigning teachers to classes in fields for which they are not prepared to teach, or hiring teachers who lack teh appropriate teacher certification. Some policies aim to control the older, experienced teachers which are creating incentives to keep these teachers in schools beyond their retirement age. This is not good for the teachers or the students. Teachers that are not happy or are overworked are not a good asset to the school system or the students which they teach.

So how is this fair? Teachers work everyday in and out and still are being asked to work over retirement to fill the shortage. It could be that if teachers were actually valued in this country this shortage would possibly not exist. Unfortnately, teachers spend more time with children than some busy parents do at times. They not only teach, but are role models and influence so many students lives. How many times do hear stories of a Mrs. Smith a great 5th grade teacher that always knew exactly what to say to make your day just that much better or a Mr. Jones, a 3rd grade teacher who knew exactly how to explain the solution of whatever problem you could not find. We have all sometime in our lives been influenced by a teacher, or been taught a new task. We as a society can not wonder why there is a shortage of teachers, when we value professional sports and moviemaking more than a profession that involves are interaction with our children on a daily basis.

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19. April 2009 by student.

The Obama Administration should not have declassified and released the memos as it gives the enemy a broader understanding of our intel operations.  The reasons that the administration did this seem obvious.

There are two theories out there about this.  Let’s start with the Guardian UK:

…Senior members of the Bush administration today defended the physical abuse of prisoners by CIA operatives at Guantánamo and elsewhere round the world set out in graphic detail in secret memos released by president Barack Obama.

General Michael Hayden, head of the CIA under president George Bush, and Michael Mukasey, who was attorney-general, criticised Obama for releasing the memos. The two accused him of pandering to the media in creating “faux outrage”, undermining the morale of the intelligence services and inviting the scorn of America’s enemies.

But the interrogation techniques outlined in the memos prompted a flood of calls from human rights groups and others for the prosecution of politicians, lawyers, doctors and CIA operatives involved…

Faux Outrage.  That IS the basic emote out of the WH these days.  Why is it fake outrage?  Because if it were real outrage, the WH would have changed something, ANYTHING, about how we conduct the war, intel operations, interrogations, a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.  And the left is going berserk over the President’s pledge to not seek charges against the CIA agents involved.

BTW, all of the methods of “torture” are derived from SERE training and some of the authors here have experienced just about all of them.  The Guardian article above has a decent rundown of the different “tortures” like Nudity, Sleep and Food Deprivation, etc.

One prominent attorney from the Council on Foreign Relations sees it very differently:

…David Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, released a statement Friday saying the release of four memos provides a “great benefit” to the former president. 

“This data is analyzed in great detail to establish that the use of these techniques does not inflict either physical or psychological damage,” said Rivkin, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. “The conclusions (the) memos reach — that the specific interrogation techniques used by the CIA did not constitute torture — are eminently reasonable.”…

In other words, the released memos prove that the Bush administration did not use torture.

Thank you, President Obama, for putting this silly argument to bed. 

I’m certain that was your intent.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

19. April 2009 by student.

Since 1992 Soldiers with Fort Eustis, Virginia’s 7th Sustainment Brigade have volunteered at the Achievable Dream Academy, a special school designed to help struggling or underachieving children thrive.

Each day at 7:30 a.m. two buses of Soldiers arrive at the elementary school. They line up along the entrance of the building and through the hallways, greeting the students with a firm handshake and a good morning. They have breakfast with the children, lead them in a morning prep rally that includes saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem, and perform uniform inspections. These Soldiers are a key part of the character building curriculum designed to help the young students succeed.

The Achievable Dream Academy is in one of the most struggling areas in the state of Virginia. The students there share the common bond of being born into poverty. Most have at least one parent in prison and lack positive adult role models to guide them through life.  Achievable Dream Academy gathers together the lowest performers and most at-risk students in that community and challenges them to be dreamers, with the help of some pretty amazing Soldier role-models.

In the Soldiers the students see a glimpse into a future they can achieve - success, responsibility, pride in who they are and what they have accomplished. I can think of no better character role models for young people.

The Soldiers have formed a special bond with the students, and frequently spend time with them and their families outside of the school day. It is a committment that extends beyond the one-hour morning routine and demonstrates the personal responsibility the Soldiers feel toward the young people they mentor. It’s no irony that approximately 10 percent of the Achievable Dream students choose to enlist in the U.S. Army following high-school, even though most all of them typically receive full scholarships to college from private organizations. They see a career path worth emulating in the 7th Sustainment Brigade Soldiers.
The most moving part of the morning is when the Soldiers lead students in the morning pep rally. The students and Soldiers take turns shouting lines like “I am somebody” and “I will say no to drugs.” These lines may seem trivial, but to students who face drug dealers at their doorsteps and peer pressure to fail, they are deeply moving motivators, and you can see it in their faces. The Soldiers take those lines very seriously, and their investment in them makes a clear impact in the students.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | No Comments »

19. April 2009 by student.

Blackwater USA should be charged with war crimes - but probably won’t.

The latest immunity deal between the U.S. State Department and Blackwater shows why the Bush Administration refuses to support the International Criminal Court.

The International Criminal Court was created by international treaty in 2002, for the prosecution of war crimes committed on or after that date. United States joined countries like China and Israel in refusing to participate in the court, claiming it feared political persecution of U.S. citizens.

However, the ICC charter specifically states that the court does not have jurisdiction over a war crimes case if “The case is being investigated or prosecuted by a State which has jurisdiction over it, unless the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution.” So states that are willing to investigate allegations in good faith need not fear politically-motivated cases coming to the ICC.

And now we understand why the Bush Administration is so afraid of the ICC. The Associated Press recently reported that the State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of the deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in September 2007 acts clearly defined by the ICC charter as war crimes.

According to the AP, “The immunity deal has delayed a criminal inquiry into the Sept. 16 killings and could undermine any effort to prosecute security contractors for their role in the incident that has infuriated the Iraqi government.”

It is precisely this scenario in which a State refuses or impedes an investigation of war crimes committed in its jurisdiction for which the International Criminal Court was created. And it is clear that the Bush Administration’s intention to ignore war crimes carried out by U.S. citizens and contractors is the real reason it won’t sign on to the ICC.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

19. April 2009 by student.

Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticized work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company’s new name is pronounced like the letter “z.” Blackwater Lodge & Training Center — the subsidiary that conducts much of the company’s overseas operations and domestic training — has been renamed U.S. Training Center Inc., the company said Friday.The decision comes as part of an ongoing rebranding effort that grew more urgent following a September 2007 shooting in Iraq that left at least a dozen civilians dead. Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security.”The volume of changes over the past half-year have taken the company to an exciting place and we are now ready for two of the final, and most obvious changes,” Jackson said in the note.In his memo, Jackson indicated the company was not interested in actively pursuing new private security contracts. Jackson and other Blackwater executives told The Associated Press last year it was shifting its focus away from such work to focus on training and providing logistics.”This company will continue to provide personnel protective services for high-threat environments when needed by the U.S. government, but its primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world, including the flagship campus in North Carolina,” Jackson said.The company has operated under the Blackwater name since 1997, when chief executive Erik Prince and some of his former Navy SEAL colleagues launched it in northeastern North Carolina, naming their new endeavor for the area swamp streams that run black with murky water. But the name change underscores how badly the Moyock-based company’s brand was damaged by its work in Iraq.In 2004, four of its contractors were killed in an insurgent ambush in Fallujuah, with their bodies burned, mutiliated and strung from a bridge. The incident triggered a U.S. siege of the restive city.The September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square added to the damage. The incident infuriated politicians both in Baghdad in Washington, triggering congressional hearings and increasing calls that the company be banned from operating in Iraq.Last month, Iraqi leaders said they would not renew Blackwater’s license to operate there, citing the lingering outrage over the shooting in Nisoor Square, and the State Department said later it will not renew Blackwater’s contract to protect diplomats when it expires in May.Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company made the name change was largely because of changes in its focus, but acknowledged the need for the company to shake its past in Iraq.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | No Comments »

19. April 2009 by student.

Professor Andoscia, thank you. You made Social Problems one of the most interesting classes that I have attended so far during my tenure here at Edison; and allowed me to think and rethink my position on many subjects. My one regret, and some will disagree with me, is that there was not enough time to fully engage in some of the discussions, and allow them to be explored more deeply, leaving me with the feeling that “we have only scratched the surface”; which, as you lead me to believe, is the crucible of sociology. I wish you well in your future endeavors, and every success that this world has to offer.

Posted in Social Problems, Introduction to Sociology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

19. April 2009 by student.

I personally hate customer service because you stop becoming a person and start becoming more of a number to these people. They really don’t care about whatever problem you have because they do not get paid enough too. Most of the time they pass you along the line to speak to other people in customer service so they don’t have to deal with you themselves. The worst is the automated voices you get to listen to when you call in. These things are the worst. It just goes to show that these customer service people honestly don’t care your concerns. I never get anywhere with those automated machines and I think that is what they are there for. The companies that have customer service don’t want you to complain so they make it impossible to do so. These people need o be sent to the moon for all the irritation they have caused me and countless other over the years.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

19. April 2009 by student.

Authority is the backbone to any society I can think of. It is there to protect its citizens from danger. This danger could be anything from other citizens to a natural disaster. Well, what if they danger was the police? Thankfully, I never really had to deal with the police or any sort of authority in a really negative way in my life and I plan on keeping it that way. I know a bunch of people who have been arrested and most of the time the cops take the law above and beyond what is morally right. I understand these guys have to make decisions and judgments on the fly but excessive force on something as trivial as drinking at a party is just unacceptable. My example would be my friend Daniel; he was drinking at a party and the cops beat the shit out of him for imposingly resisting arrest. I know he did not do anything wrong because I saw the whole thing. That cop was looking for a scapegoat we later found out and he turned off his squad car camera so we could not call him on it. I mistrust cops and rightfully so. You never know when you have that gun ho policeman who happened to pull you over; who knows what trouble he could cause you.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

19. April 2009 by student.

Today in our society, its more than common that strangers steal someone’s identity or credit card digits. This morning I checked my email and I received a forward about different scenes that have occurred recently about credit card stealing. The most interesting scenario that stood out to me was the about a woman who went to a pizza shop and the man at the register took her card and started acting strange. He got on his cell phone and started punching random numbers in and then he placed his phone on the counter right in front of her credit card, he walked away while she heard a chime noise coming from his phone. She was definetly paying attention and concerned. She finally got her card back while realizing that he was stealing her credit card digits and instantly she cancelled the card, just to be sure. Credit card faud and identity theft is happening more and more often. Citizens in our society need to pay extra attention to these crimes or we’ll all be in trouble.

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19. April 2009 by student.

               China has the biggest population out of all the countries in the entire world. They have sure a large amount of people that have a one child per family policy to keep the population under control. This is a great idea so they have enough food and shelter for everyone. This has been going on for many years and has been fine. This year there has been thousands of kidnappings of little Chinese boys that are somewhat of a commodity for these people. These kids are being used to trafficking and they are selling these kids to other for money.

                Having your little boy taken would be one of the most devastating things that could ever happen in your life. This is happened to so many families and most people just don’t really care because they know they cannot stop it. The police are trying their best to fix this problem and want to get it resolved. The parents that this happens to are very devastated and want their sons back. They try to get the police to help find them, but there are so many that are kidnapped they cannot keep track of all of them. All of these kids are being sold to others and this is so sad to hear. The parents just really hope that their sons go to a really rich family and have a great life. All of these kids are taken so young and when they fully grow up they will not remember their real mom and dad. They will never really know what actually happened to them and will never meet their real parents very again.

                This is such a sad thing to here that kids are being sold like items, or trade goods. The police and the FBI really need to crack down on this and find a way to stop this before it gets any worse that it already is.   

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »