Posts by Sintjago

Build your CV through a foreign education experience:

July, 24, 2010

With close to 10% unemployment in the United States and a 6.8% unemployment rate in Minneapolis (http://www.startribune.com/business/98507039.html), a substantial number of professionally trained and skilled individuals have found it very difficult to find a job in the current job market. In addition many have founds jobs in fields unrelated to their professional training, while others are considering continuing their education, taking out loans to return to school for an advanced degree or a particular certification.

Things could be worse, the outlook in America is not as bleak as in Europe, where various countries have accumulated debts close to or larger than their annual GDPs, their recession does not seem to be nearing its end, including some countries, such as Spain where unemployment has exceeded 20%. In America the situations is not as uninviting, but with an uncertain economic outlook; why not consider another way in which to upgrade your resume. Why not go abroad and live a once in a lifetime experience?

Yes, while adventurous and non-traditional, this is also a possibility. What better way to continue your education than learning a foreign language while providing a developing country with your unique expertise as you obtain an international business experience? A recent article by Andrew Dana Hudson in the Chronicle denotes his experience after moving to India (http://chronicle.com/article/What-I-Did-When-I-Couldnt/66281/). As explained in his article, there are a lot of risks involved with moving abroad, but with few job opportunities, perhaps this option will become increasingly more appealing.

Traditionally developing countries had been the main losers of the emigration of skilled labor. The “brain drain” required the constant retraining of skilled labor in developing countries. Increasingly, however, as the economies of some of these countries improve, more skilled laborers are choosing to return to their native lands. Can this also not be a great opportunity for young skilled graduate or other unemployed skilled laborers to have a foreign education experience, much more intense than simply studying abroad?

As the world becomes increasingly globalized and everyone is looking for a way in which to stand out and distinguish themselves, why not consider this possibility? Learning Mandarin in China or having work experience in India could have lifetime benefits to young businessmen. Within the western hemisphere, the most recent report from ECLAC indicated that all but two economies in Latin America, Venezuela and Haiti, were experiencing significant economic growth (http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100721-712908.html).

While moving abroad and venturing in this manner is not for everyone, if you are a young college graduate considering whether to continue into an MA or PhD program, simply feeling restricted as you are unable to find a job, or feel underemployed or unrecognized, why not consider continuing your education through a practical experience while helping in a country where you talents may be more appreciated.

EXCO – A Free Community of Continuing Education

July, 22, 2010

EXCO, the Experimental College of the Twin Cities, now in its 3^rd year, continues to offer classes for the members of the Twin Cities in a variety of subjects during this summer. Offering classes since 2008, EXCO, as its motto indicates, is an organization that sees itself as a community “where everyone can teach or take a class and all classes are FREE!” If you feel inspired to share your knowledge with the community and would like to teach a class, or attend a class to learn something new and different, EXCO (http://www.excotc.org) is worth visiting.

While some of the subjects may be somewhat different from the traditional college curriculum and there is no certification or accreditation involved, courses on subjects such as bicycle maintenance and health and wellness are actually one of EXCO’s strongest appeals. EXCO allows individuals to study more traditional subject such as French, through its French Friday Revival course, but also offers members the opportunity to study, free of change, a non-traditional subject and stimulate their mind in different ways.

EXCO can be a fantastic place for an advanced student to obtain some teaching experience. With some organization, a group of individuals could get together and co-facilitate a seminar. While classes must be approved, individuals can teach through a variety of teaching methods and are only limited by their imagination. The classes take place in various locations around St. Paul and Minneapolis. Instructions teach on a volunteer basis. EXCO awards instruction supply funds and some instructors are awarded need-based honorariums.

EXCO classes start primarily during September, February and June, but some classes accept students on a rolling basis. The website appears to be growing and hopefully it will continue to expand in the upcoming years.

The Minneapolis community would benefit from the growth of communities such as EXCO. While the city offers other possibilities for continuing education, EXCO is one of the few options available to individuals who do not have the financial means to attend a course at a community college.

With the current difficulties in the job market, maybe more individuals will find the time to visit EXCO and contribute by either learning or teaching to fellow community members. If you have the time in your hands, visit the website and perhaps you be swayed into attending a free yoga or zumba class for the rest of the summer. To find out more about EXCO, call 651-988-9268 or email rosenblum34@gmail.com

Ning New Pricing Plan

July, 20, 2010

On July 19, I attended a forum held by the Elluminate! Education software,(http://www.elluminate.com), in collaboration with FutureofEducation.com and Conversation.net, where representatives from Ning and Pearson discussed the upcoming changes to Ning pricing plans (http://about.ning.com/announcement). Since 2005, Marc Andersen’s newest product, Ning, (http://www.ning.com), a form of social networking where users could create their own online communities, had been used by some educators and students to form free continuing education networks with hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of online members within each community.

As a result of financial pressure, Ning has decided to phase out its free networks and charge Ning creators depending on the size of the Ning from $2.95 a month to $49.95. Unfortunately, after July 20, the new financial costs will make it more difficult for new start up Nings to establish a community and develop under their new for profit structure. Pearson, a global leader in online and offline education, has decided to sponsor qualifying educational mini Nings in order to help some of the continuously growing Ning educational community to remain free within Ning network

Pearson will offer sponsorships to smaller mini Nings that they consider promising, and Ning offered its users possibilities for its members to cover the cost of the site through sponsorships and advertisements, unfortunately the changes will make it difficult for some of these communities to continue. Future free education communities may be forced to move to other websites such as grouply.com, rrriple.com, bigtent.com, edmodo.com, zonkk.com, and teamlab.com, among many others which continue to be free for their users. Fortunately for those that will be unable to meet the cost of hosting a Ning network, many of these alternative sites maintain some of the same elements originally found in Ning. Hopefully for Ning and many of its users, some of these communities will be able to thrive under the for-profit model.

Hoping you continue your education,

Alfonso Sintjago

Apart from my PhD studies at the University of Minnesota, I am currently taking a course with Lynda.com software on Dreamweaver as well as an OpenCourseWare class in programming by the MIT. If you have the time at home and would like to explore a subject in which you are interested at an academic level, visit the OCW consortium (http://www.ocwconsortium.org/) for a listing of available free courses or download a class in Itunes U. Podcasts are also an excellent alternative.

The Dream Act – Allowing Young Immigrants to Continue their Education

July 10, 2010

As noted in a recent New York Times Article, The Obama administration is apparently allowing students that are illegally in America to continue their studies and remain in the USA despite having knowledge of their condition as illegal aliens. While the Obama administration has been more effective than the previous administration in removing illegal aliens with criminal records, the government is apparently turning a blind eye to illegal promising young students.*

As the United States increasingly loses ground to foreign countries in terms of the number of college graduates per capita, the decision is not only compassionate, with most of these students having been here for a large portion of their lives, but may also be beneficial to the United States’ economy.*

Yet, after almost a decade of attempts, the DREAM Act (The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which text was first sponsored as the H.R.1918 – Student Adjustment Act of 2001, continues to fail to obtain the necessary votes to become a law, despite the support of both Republican (43^rd President – George W. Bush) and Democratic (44^th President – Barack Obama) administrations.

The bill was introduced in the Senate during the 108^th Congress – S.1545 (2002-2003), 109^th Congress – S. 2075(2005 – 2006), and twice during the 110^th Congress (2007 – 2008) – S.774, S.2205, as well as three times in the House during the 108^th, 109^th, 110^th Congress respectively. Unfortunately, the bill has continuously failed to garner enough votes.

If enacted, the bill would allow immigrants who came to the United States before they were 16 and either graduated from high school or obtained their GED to be placed on a path to citizenship after serving in the armed forces for two years or completing two years of study within a four year degree program. Yet, under the current political climate and economic recession, the text of the bill will likely not be enacted until border security increases and illegal immigration rates are curbed.

Despite these odds, hopefully the bill will find support during the next congress session. These immigrants, many of whom did not themselves make the decision to enter the United States illegally, should not be punished for the mistakes of their parents.

Should America not show compassion to this group of highly motivated young immigrants, many of whom feel a strong allegiance to this country? As it is written on “The New Colossus” plaque inside the Statue of Liberty, isn’t America the land of liberty that welcomes the immigrant to the New World? A country founded by immigrants from many different countries should have in place a fair and comprehensive immigration system.

* Students Spared Amid an Increase in Deportations (August 8, 2010)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/us/09students.html?th&emc=th.

* USA now 12^th in number of graduates (August 7, 2010):

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/opinion/07herbert.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

EXCO – Twin Cities Experimental College (Free Education)

July, 7, 2010

On the subject of free continuing education, having just moved to Minneapolis, I recently visited a couple of classes run by EXCO, the Experimental College of the Twin Cities (http://excotc.org). While there is a limited selection of classes, it is another available option for those seeking to continue their education and learn something new or simply relax in one of its Yoga or Meditations classes. If you have not visited EXCO, I suggest you visit it and see if there is a class that fits your schedule and your liking.

“To Sir with Love” – By Sydney Poitier

July, 4, 2010

This classic 1972 movie touches certain topics traditionally present in the educational industry and first year teachers. The movie focuses on a black man born in British Guyana and his difficulties during his first year of teaching. Coming to work at a school after failing to find work as an engineer for 18 months, “Sir” decides to teach at risk children at a London school. At first the job proves trying as children attempts to find ways to make him lose temper. “Sir” attempt at first to teach them to harsh discipline, but the children prove hard to reach. By slamming the door, talking to their classmates, rocking back and forth their desks, purposely reading poorly, the students make him lose it one day in which he yells at the children and momentarily dismisses half of the classroom.

Later that day, he realizes that unlike any other of the jobs he has held before, (which included from cleaning latrines to waiter to working for an oil company) this is the first time he has truly lost his cool on the job. It is then however when he feels unable to reach them that he decides that he needs to treat this young adults as such, instead of treating them as children, he will treat them as individuals who will soon be part of the productive sector of society.

By telling them that they most treat each other properly and address each other formally with Sir and Miss, the children start to turn and begin to act respectfully in his classroom. As in a more recent movie Coach Carter, To Sir with Love highlights how by treating other properly and not as children but as responsible individuals, with this increased expectation the students begin to act accordingly and he quickly turn about the class, despite a couple of events (by a still rebellious niche of students), into a generally productive and respectful environment.

While this is not possible for all subjects and teachers, he transforms his literature class into a humanities classroom where students can ask questions about any topic and discuss them orderly in a forum. The students talk about rebellion, sex, jobs, and even discuss race.

As black actors in the 1960s and 1970s, various of Poitier films include mentions or discussion of race relations. This movie is not an exception. At the end of the school year, the students discuss with him that “people” would gossip if they went into a colored person home and that they would not hand the flowers to the black man at the funeral. “Sir” was very hurt by this reminder of the continuous racial tension in society but he was comforted by a student (a white girl) who decided she would hand the flowers. Fortunately, in the end of the movie, the whole class was there as well with flowers.

The movie is well produced and it touches on the influence a teacher can have in students when a teacher sets high expectations, but act respectfully towards the students who then act respectfully towards one another and they look up towards the instructor. The mutual respect grows into the students changing various negative deviant and disrespectful behaviors but not because of fear but rather by reason and evaluating their actions. This same respect also led to the growth of both the teacher and the students.

One of his most successful teaching days was a visit to a museum, where the children interacted with ancient sculptures and paintings. Before taking other after the PE teacher resigned, he tried to take the children in a field trip on a weekly basis.

I greatly recommend this film to anyone interested in teaching as a practitioner or administrator. This films shows the difficulties in finding ways of reaching children as well as the problems in the industry which include a high turnover rate. Despite his success as a teacher and being beloved by the children and the community, “Sir” decides to leave teaching for the trade he studied at college, an engineering job.

Hope you also enjoy the movie,

Alfonso Sintjago

Filming Videos – Office for Public Engagement

June, 22, 2010

1) Why is public and community engagement important to their work?

2) Give a specific example of community-engaged research, teaching, or service activity that was transformational and/or really made a different for anyone or all involved.

3) What is public engagement and how it is different from outreach/public service?  Address the question:  What does public engagement mean to me.

4) How does public engagement impact (a) students, (b) faculty,  (c) staff; (d) the community, (e) departments or colleges or other University units, (f) the state of Minnesota, nation, or world. Give a specific example.

5) How does public engagement help build a stronger University?

6) What needs to change/be enhanced about public engagement at the U of M?

ICGC-COMPTON INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP

May 4, 2010

As a native Venezuela, my primary motivation for applying to the PhD program on Comparative and International Development Education was the desire to equip myself with the skills and knowledge necessary for improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society and contributing to the human development of my native country, and Latin America as a whole. I was fortunate enough to be able to move to the United States when I was fourteen, and with the aim of returning in mind, I have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the educational system in this country. Throughout my time here I have maintained a strong attachment to Venezuela, focusing much of my undergraduate and Master’s research on various political and social changes taking place in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Since 1998, Venezuela has become increasingly polarized and social tensions have escalated almost to a crisis point on a number of occasions. Recent years have seen an explosion in the level of violent crime, leading Foreign Policy magazine to dub Caracas the Murder Capital of the World (with 130 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants (Wigmore, 2008)).[1] President Hugo Chavez’s socialism for the twenty-first century has the potential to bring about significant positive social changes, as he has attempted with the enactment of over thirty different reform programs, or provoke further conflict, including a continued rise of political polarization and crime, the erosion of Venezuela’s fragile democratic tradition, and the strengthening of its culture of corruption. Andres Oppenheimer, a well known journalist for the Miami Herald, went as far as equating modern Venezuela to Civil War Lebanon, where an opposing faction or political party was represented in every other street corner. As such, he believed there to be a realistic fear of a possible breakdown of the social order in Venezuela, with the polarization of society reaching its boiling point (Oppenheimer, 2005).[2]

It is my firm belief that education represents one of the best ways of diffusing this explosive situation and can contribute to increased security for people from all social classes, and reduce some of the divisions between classes. For this reason, I intend to focus my studies on the educational reforms being implemented by the Chavez administration and explore the possibilities of using online higher education as a development tool. I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn the skills needed for success in today’s globalized economy, and am interested in how innovative programs such as the Masters in Development Practice, administered by ICGC and the Humphrey Institute in partnership with universities around the world, are forging new, cross-regional connections. Such relationships may help to foster greater understanding among people from very different cultures and backgrounds and encourage inter-regional dialogue and cooperation on some of the most critical issues we face today.

In order for such initiatives to succeed, and for the consolidation of peace and democracy in the region, Latin America urgently needs to continue and strengthen its recent emphasis on educational reform.  A 1997 report by the Inter-American Development Bank identified the lag in education as the single greatest obstacle to future economic growth in the region (Cited in Birsall, 1999).[3] Latin America today is one of the most unequal regions in the world. The promised trickle down effects of economic growth have failed to materialize, and in many countries the gap between rich and poor is actually increasing. This inequality breeds insecurity, increases social tensions and deepens divisions within societies. Education has been shown to be the most effective investment for raising both productivity and income among the poorest sectors of society and has therefore been identified as “the key factor for reducing the poverty, social tensions, and inequality that continue to plague the region” (Birdsall, 1999).[4] As stated by Anderson (2004), “education is one of the few sustainable means to equip humans around the globe with the skills and resources to confront the challenges of ignorance, poverty, war, and environmental degradation.”[5]

The biggest issue for Latin America is not the number of schools but the quality of the education they provide. The rich tend to educate their children privately, in schools equipped with the latest technology and textbooks whilst the public school systems often suffer from a chronic lack and/or misuse of resources. It is my belief that online education may provide a cost effective and efficient way of expanding access to educational resources to include even the most marginalized groups within a society. Inspired by the pedagogical theories of Paulo Freire, I intend to examine how new linkages can be made between the life experiences and priorities of students and the online revolution.  Information Technology is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich in Latin America, and cybercafés can be found in some of the most remote and sparsely populated areas.

Whereas much progress has been made in increasing access to primary education, it is the field of advanced and higher education where I believe information technology has the most potential to increase both the number of people with access to higher education and the breadth of subject matter and information available to them.  Some universities such as MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Yale have uploaded class materials free of charge to the internet. Other websites such as YouTube EDU, and Wikipedia.com, GCFLearnFree.org, Free-Ed.net provide information and videos for individuals to instruct and inform themselves in a large array of subjects. The possibilities for cross-cultural learning and exchange provided by the internet are immense. While online education has grown as a for-profit enterprise in the United States during the last years, my policy concerns are focused on the use of online education primarily as a development tool for third world countries. Online universities are growing in some Latin American countries such as Mexico, and some offer a number of advanced degree programs, however, other countries have not taken advantage of these technologies. To my knowledge, in Latin America, no major non-profit development project on online education has been developed as yet.

I hope that, after obtaining a PhD in Comparative and International Development Education, I may be able to participate in the formulation of such an initiative. My objective is to work for the educational ministry of a developing country or as an instructor and researcher in South America or another developing country. I am also interested in working for a non-profit or international organization linked to educational policy making and implementation and exploring the possibilities for cross-regional partnerships in this area.

With this in mind I will also be focusing my research on some of the current, most radical reforms taking place in Latin American educational policy at the moment. I plan to continue my research into the educational “misiones” that have been implemented by the government of Hugo Chavez. These misiones attempt to bring about an educational revolution and bring access to all levels of education to the masses. Since their implementation in 2003, the misiones have graduated thousands of students who had previously been denied access to any form of education. According to the United Nations, Mision Robinson (http://www.misionrobinson.me.gob.ve/) reduced illiteracy by a million people in less than two years. Other education misiones such as Mision Ribas (http://www.misionribas.gov.ve/) and Mision Sucre (http://www.misionsucre.gov.ve/) focused on providing a rapid education for the masses from 6^th grade to graduate school. The programs have increased their graduation rates on a yearly basis, yet critics argue that the quality of the educational system has been compromised by the creation of these quick education programs.

I am particularly interested in exploring whether these misiones are contributing to increasing stability and reducing insecurity within Venezuela. The Chavez administration is keen to instill socialist values and promote a leftist ideology through its educational programs. Curricula and materials are being altered to reflect the standpoint of the regime, leading to accusations of indoctrination and increasing resistance from some sectors of society. Thus, although reducing inequality through such educational programs may lead to an increase in security for those traditionally most marginalized by the education system, the misiones may simultaneously be contributing to the worsening polarization and division of Venezuelan society. This makes the Venezuelan case vital to the study of security and the construction of social peace within the region.

Education can radically transform a human being, it can awaken our consciousness and opens the door to innumerable possibilities and opportunities. Education, formally or informally, empowers an individual and sets him free from the chains of helplessness. It challenges us to question our preconceptions, examine our values and moral codes and can foster a sense of civic and moral responsibility. Through a high-quality education the linkages between our own lives, the economic and political systems and the environment in which we live become clear, allowing for greater understanding of the consequences of our actions and our position in global society. Ignorance breeds fear and misunderstanding, which can lead to conflict and instability. A good education, therefore, represents one of our greatest tools in our struggle for peace, security and greater understanding among people from all around the world.

For these reasons I believe that my goals and objectives coincide with those of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change and the Compton International Fellowship. I firmly believe in the advantages of an interdisciplinary approach to education, receiving Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science, History, Sociology and Spanish from Ouachita Baptist University and an MA in Latin American Studies with an emphasis in Development from the University of Florida. During my graduate studies I was able to take courses in a number of subjects including economic development, gender and development, anthropology, political science and International Relations. My MA thesis focused on another aspect of the Chavez administration’s misiones, agrarian reform, for which I conducted my fieldwork on a number of agricultural cooperatives in the state of Monagas. I feel that my Master’s degree has provided me with a firm theoretical grounding in some of the main theories of development and the most pressing issues facing Latin America today. In addition, I was introduced to, and inspired by, the writings of Paulo Freire and theories of critical pedagogy and eco pedagogy. I intend to continue to develop my understanding of educational theory during the course of my PhD studies. By fostering social change through educational policy I hope that I will be able to participate in the construction of a fairer, more equal world, and bring real improvements to the lives of people in Venezuela and make the most of the fantastic opportunities I have been granted to help some of the poorest people in Latin America and begin to narrow the gap between rich and poor.