The Oxford Observer
  • Home
  • Channel
  • Videos
  • Technology
  • Blog
    • Creativity >
      • Amazing Art
      • Magnificent Music
      • Peerless Poetry
  • Study Help
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Channel
  • Videos
  • Technology
  • Blog
    • Creativity >
      • Amazing Art
      • Magnificent Music
      • Peerless Poetry
  • Study Help
  • Contact
The Oxford Observer

Achievement Gaps and Affirmative Action: Social Responsibility?

3/16/2015

0 Comments

 
When I was at Oxford, I wrote eight papers for my tutorial on "Comparative Education," looking at major themes in education across the globe. Two of them were on achievement gaps and affirmative action, problems which oftentimes receive the most focus in the public spotlight, and I submitted them to the Gold Star Journal (along with some photographs).

My papers were accepted (as a combined paper), and all of the photos in the 2015 Gold Star Journal are mine! You can see the paper on page 12 of the PDF, and the photos throughout.

Abstract:

Education often does not receive as much publicity as other issues in the public eye, but education concerns tend to divide the country. Achievement gaps among genders, races, and socioeconomic strata are often not discussed but are at the heart of many of our nation’s issues, from unemployment numbers to average salary and overall quality of life. Affirmative action, favoring students with a certain feature, characteristic, or situation in college placement, is a controversial way to fill quotas in incoming college classes in an attempt to close achievement gaps. Can we close achievement gaps by catering to a “lowest-common denominator” in classes? Is affirmative action an ethical and effective way to eliminate achievement gaps?

0 Comments

National Youth-At-Risk Conference

3/9/2015

0 Comments

 
I had the great opportunity to speak at the National Youth-At-Risk Conference in Savannah, GA on March 3, 2015. The Citadel's Zucker Family School of Education is dedicated to the Charleston-area community, specifically in helping the schools in the area. 
Picture
Picture
Myself and three other cadet mentors were able to  "Mentor Partnerships Between Colleges and K-12 Schools: Perspectives from College Students Who Mentor". I also attended sessions entitled "Bullying and Zero Tolerance Policies: The School to Prison Pipeline" and "Motivating 'At-Risk' Youth: It's Possible!" which provided me with a lot of great resources and tips (I may write a post about each of them later).

Our presentation focused on the relationships The Citadel has with local elementary and middle schools, particularly regarding one-on-one and small group mentoring. Below is the embedded PowerPoint presentation.

I wholeheartedly believe it is a college/university's obligation to give back to the communities from which its students come and in which it resides. This can be a crucial determiner of a student's achievement: all too often, students fail simply because they do not believe they can succeed. Giving them college student mentors lets students see themselves in college and higher education, and achieving the goals which they set for themselves. Many students (regardless of background) also feel as though they have no one to talk to, and developing appropriate and individual relationships with said students can be invaluable towards increasing their motivation and achievement.

0 Comments
    Picture
    Have an idea for an article? Send it to us!

    Categories

    All
    Bandwidth
    Creativity
    Guest Contributor
    Innovation
    Life At Oxford
    Music
    Special Education
    Sports
    Systems
    Travels
    Videos

    Archives

    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    RSS Feed

The Oxford Observer - Copyright 2016