"Gaming for Education"

Through reading Laura Devaney's article "Gaming helps students hone 21st century skills" it has become apparent that online gaming helps students develop skills they will use in school, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.

These games are highly interactive and immerse students in collaborative environments, and allow for rapid decision-making. Studies even show that video games reinforce the brain to create mental maps, inductive discovery, such as formulating hypotheses, and the ability to focus on several things at once and respond faster to unexpected stimuli.

If this is the case than why not present such things in a classroom setting as video games relating to a specific topic or activity. I am not suggesting that the only thing we do within a classroom setting is play video games, but I do feel that today's teachers and future teachers should find new ideas to enhance a child's learning experience and if video games are the way to do it than why not?

Dan's Literacy Dig

Attached to my stereo...
Object #1: My Ipod
Overall Significance: This is probably the most recent, but valued addition to my dorm room. At the moment, my Ipod contains 351 artists, 3205 songs and a whole lot of reading! Music is one of my biggest hobbies and I would go crazy if I lost all the music I've acquired/ bought/ borrowed over the years. I believe my Ipod shows that I read a lot and my literacy is constantly being tested. Reading lyrics off the internet, understanding song titles and properly pronouncing band names are all part of my day.

Taped to my door...
Object #2: Cardinal Points cut-out
Overall Significance: To my knowledge, this is from the only time that my name has appeared in Cardinal Points. The article is titled "The weekend smoker: Social smoking popular with drinking" and I was interviewed for it. Since the article I have almost completely eliminated alcohol from my consumption and the article is a humorous flashback to what I once did so regularly. The article quotes me about how I threw up blood after smoking a whole pack of cigarettes on St. Patrick's Day. This helpful reminder keeps me away from the bad habits I once had. I think the article also shows that I do appreciate literacy by reading our school newspaper regularly.

Hanging from my wall...
Object #3: Homer Simpson poster
Overall Significance: This is a poster of Homer Simpson clipping his toenails while working at the nuclear power plant. Besides the fact that I love the television show I like it because it says "Pride Cleanliness is next to Godliness" at the bottom of the poster. I like being clean and organized and this poster is a funny reflection on the ideals I have. This poster is right next to my computer and I probably read the phrase daily, unknowingly. I think this is a good reflection on the place literacy has in my life without me even really taking notice to it.

Lining my closet shelf...
Object #4: My DVD collection
Overall Significance: I rarely watch television so my movie collection is another valued possession and literacy yet again has a place in my room. The movie titles and synopsis' on the back of the cases are all things I occasionly read before watching a movie. This reminds me how valuable my literacy skills are to my daily life.

Resting on top of my closet shelf...
Object #5: Microwaveable noodle meals
Overall Significance: These have been taking space on my shelf since my mom gave them to me. They're supposed to be used whenever I'm too lazy to walk to the dining hall, which practically never happens so they just stay there for the time being. My literacy skills could definitely come to use here if I needed to know how to make one of these meals. If I didn't know how to read I could be setting myself up for disaster if I tried to make one of these noodle dishes!

Video games: The new way to learn?

Laura Devaney recently wrote an article titled "Gaming helps students hone 21st-century skills". Within her article she discusses how "online gaming can help students develop many of the skills they'll be required to use upon leaving school, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity". Games such as Second Life have been shown to help in creating mental maps, forming hypotheses and the ability to focus on multiple things at once. Claudia L'Amoreaux called Second Life "an engine for creativity". Using Second Life, students were involved in a recreation of Kristallnacht from 1938. Overall, the article showed students effectively using gaming as a learning tool. L'Amoreaux notes that "it helps kids get involved in things and use their own interests and explore a part of something they're interested in".
Although I mainly agreed with the information presented in the article, I do not want to automatically assume that all gaming helps children learn. There are definitely role-playing and strategy-related games that enhance a students learning experience; however, I would also contest that it can negatively impact a student. I, a non-gaming individual, would have trouble focusing on learning without being distracted by the images on the screen. Gaming should also not be a central point to learning because in my opinion, you need to be traditionally taught before you can experience new ways of learning. This makes me think about how my younger cousins are much more technologically fluent than I am, but that obviously doesn't make them smarter. Could the use of gaming help students learn? Most certainly. I just want to make sure we aren't giving in as educators and accepting all types of media as forms of learning for the hell of it.

Home-schooling: in or out.

Parents of an estimated 166,000 children located in Los Angeles, California are waiting eagerly for a state appellate court ruiling based on the matter of whether they have the constitutional right to home-school their children without having obtained a teaching credential.
This question aroused on February, 28th. A panel of three judges ruled that in order for parents or tutors to home-school children must have a certification by the state. There ruling was based on a rarely enforced state education law, which few parents knew even existed. The reaction of this ruling had quickly spread throughout the state which just happens to be one of the nation's largest number of home-schoolers across the country.
This ruling, that has been suspended pending a June rehearing, will then threaten to send back children to the classroom that are home-schooled during their days. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that this "outrageous" ruling should be overturned and assured parents that they will have the right to home-school their children.
This decision erupted from a juvenile court case that a child reported a physically abusive father. The attorney for the child and the sibling asked the court to require their enrollment in a public or private school, rather than being home-schooled. This court had refused, saying that it would violate the parents' constitutional rights.
I think that if the parent(s) want to home-school their children, then they would not be opposed to obtaining a teaching credential. Although, obtaining this credential does not guarantee any better education, it could be something that aids in child security.

Literacy Dig

Being a mother ensures I will read something everyday that, in one way or another, pertains to toddlers. I find myself needing many questions answered that require knowledge I must obtain from labels, manuals, and books.

1. Do I really want him to eat this?
I have never scrutinized the labels of food so much in my life. Once I became a mother, all those scientific words n foods that I cannot pronounce suddenly became unacceptable. I read everything, in order to know what is being ingested by my son. I, however, will still eat all that crap, when he's not around to demand I share with him. Go figure.
2. What am I doing wrong? What can I do better?
From the time I was pregnant, the What to do When... books have been my best friends. They have one for every stage from pregnancy to preschool and I reference them at least once a week. Usually when I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown because I'm convinced my child is behaving in some unusual way, and it must somehow be my fault. These books reassure me that "no, you're doing a fine job as a mother. Your kid is just a toddler and he'll outgrow his behavior." This is usually when I cry and say "when?" But then he does something absolutely adorable, asks for a big hug, and it's all worth it again.
3. How on Earth do I put this together? Some assembly required? Yeah, right!
For being toys for toddlers, they sure are complicated to put together. I have read more instruction manuals in the last three years, than I had in the 28 years before the birth of my
son. Nothing seems to come assembled anymore. Guess that's the price we pay for all these
high-tech toys.
4. How much do I give him?
When adults take medication, they take the same amount each time. When my son takes
medication, it is almost never the same dose as the last time. By the time he needs a
medication for an illness he has had before, the dosage has changed because he's gotten bigger.
5. What book can I read to get him to sleep?
I must admit, I have an addiction to children's books, so this part of my day is not a chore. It's
an absolute joy to cuddle up in bed, with my little man, and read The Monster at the End of
This Book. It's our favorite. We are both very fond of Grover and his silly antics.

Lit Dig

#1 Dry erase board on the door:
Little comments left, like "happy early birthday" and "midnight stalker says hi" make a smile come to my face, knowing that someone is thinking about me and my roommate, at any hour of the day.

#2 Calender:
Messages and reminders of important dates for my roommate or me. If one of us has a paper due the next day, the other will annoy and keep the other going until it's done. Also holds birthdays and reminders to call home before people worry.

#3 Poster, Stephenie Meyers book covers:
Constant reminder that the next and final book in her series is coming up soon. Also a reminder of my addiction to fantasy books and vampires, a major part of my life.

#4 Fortune cookie messages:
tapped to a piece of paper tapped to the wall. Each kept for a significant message to my life at the time of getting it. It also reminds me of the many days hanging out with friends at the mall and doing stupid stuff, like collecting messages made in the U S of A and never originally from China or any other Asian country.

#5 Statue of a woman in a cloak sitting on a moon with Celtic symbols with the words "I am the soul of nature who gives life to the universe" along the bottom. Next to her sits a cat and three moons showing three phases (waxing, full, and waning) on her forehead.
A reminder that I am never alone, even if others say my religion and my beliefs are wrong and that I will be cast to hell. Someone to look up to when everything has gone wrong and words to think about the next time I look out the window and see a budding tree next to a nursery where children also grow.

Literacy Dig

My grand literarcy digging adventure began at my office while I found a globe.

1) The significance of a globe is for the map of the world to find where we are, where we want to go, and find out where certain books have been published.

I wonder away from my office to my mother's art studio. I find a paint bottle sitting near her painting of a cardinal and a church.

2) The significance of the paint bottle is to know what color it is. The color is white, a color to be mixed with the primary colors to make lighter shades.

I walk away from the painting, and go to my sister's room. On her door is a Happy Bunny poster.

3) The significance for this poster is to show her attitude as a seventeen-year-old. The Happy Bunny makes stupid comments to make people laugh, for example: "I'm perfect. Stop staring," "Teachers are funny when they yell," and "Hey, I threw up in my mouth."

I giggle at the poster, and go back to my office. I spin the globe and watch it turn. I turn to my brother's room. He has a huge display of PlayStation 3 games, and one game I look at is Turok.

4) The significance for this game is the fun of destroying dinosaurs. The game has rules, in the instruction manual to help the player learn the moves of the main characters.

I just don't understand why he likes this game, but he does. I set off to our living room. I turn to our large display of Disney movies, and one stand out is Beauty and the Beast.

5) The significance of this movie is the fun it brought me when I was younger. I watched it many times with my siblings, and I still act the same way when my favorite part comes on (when Luniar and Cogsworth fight, while Belle tries to find her father. Also, I just love when they fight and help each other). I have read the original story to Beauty and the Beast, and (of course) Disney changes everything except the main storyline. I still love this movie though. It reminds me how to be a child again.

Here my journey ends, but there is so much to explore the Cook-Holmes house. Until next time, Explorer Megan Cook is off to find more literary treasures (other than books).

Homeschooling Can Be Successful

On Feb. 28, a panel of three judges in California ruled that parents and tutors, who wish to home-school children, must be certified. The law has since been suspended until a rehearing in June; however, home-schooling parents across California are understandably concerned about the outcome. If the law is passed, most children participating in homeschooling at this time will be forced to attend a public or private school. This law would also set a precedent for others states, affecting homeschooling families across the nation. In the past, I have researched home-schooling for two research papers, so I feel I am informed enough to say that this is a direct violation of parents' rights and completely unnecessary. While I do tend to prefer those states that apply certain guidelines to home-schooling, I do not think parents without certification are incapable of providing a suitable education to their children.
While I think public schools are adequate and successful, I also feel home-schooling has its benefits. In no way, should it be seen as something reserved for radicals or religious zealots. Many parents simply feel their children will benefit more from a one-on-one learning environment. Sometimes home-schooling is opted for, due to high levels of school violence. Also, home-schooled children have more opportunities to interact with people from different age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds than children in school environments, who spend most of their time with their peers. Studies have shown, more often than not, home-schooled children are just as likely, if not more likely, to relate to others in social situations outside of school, especially once past the school-age years.
Whatever the reasons parents choose to home-school their children, I feel it should be their right do so, on one condition. I do think that some parents are not equipped to teach their children, due mostly to a lack of self-discipline. That being said, if parents can prove their children are learning what will be required of them in the "adult world," it should be their choice. I prefer the rules set by states, such as ours (NY), that require students to take yearly exams to prove they are maintaining an acceptable level of achievement. This term,"acceptable," is only meant to say a child not given an education that will be useful in society is being treated unfairly and will be at a disadvantage in the workforce. If a child is learning enough material to remain on, or exceed, the level of other children his age, I do not think anyone has the right to tell parents how their children are to be educated. Maybe they have certain areas of interest they wish to focus on, maybe they feel they can reach their child better than a teacher could, maybe they fear for their safety, or maybe they do want religion to be a part of their child's education. In any case, it should not matter how a child receives an education, so long as it is effective.

Black-White Gap Widens Faster for High Achievers

As African American students move through elementary and middle school, studies show, the test-score gaps that separate them from their better-performing Caucassian peers has grown fastest among the students and slowly for those who start out with below-average academic skills. There is no clear reason why white students seem to be achieveing better in the academic studies as oppose to African American students. But some experts believe the patterns have something to do with the fact that African-American children tend to be taught in predominantly black schools, where test scores are lower on average, teachers are less experienced, and high-achieving peers are harder to find. Some other research also suggests that high-achieving black children in some schools face more peer pressure to mask their academic abilities and that black children, on average, tend to have fewer opportunities for intellectual enrichment outside of school, which might be particularly important for bright students to shine and have more opportunities to expose their capabilities.

There has been several studies and evidence to prove that not only are African Americans underrepresented among high achieving students, but also those who are high achievers at one level tend to lose ground, on average, to high achieving Whites and Asian Americans at subsequently higher levels. This could be due to whether or not students families are involved and supportive for them and their education, along with the area in which they live. But if the schools were equipped financially to provide all the necessary resources for students to achieve high scores on standardized tests but also to graduate and move on to higher institutions of learning. As the curriculum increases in challenge, these students are not able to perform as well as they had in the past because of very poor study skills, support and lack of resources. Maybe, one day we will have some answers on how to close these gaps.

Do Parent's Have A Right?

The article I read that was presented in the Washington Post "California parents eager on ruling on home schooling" stated that parents of 166,000 children in Los Angeles await a state court ruling on their constitutional right to home school with out a teaching credential. This was presented when parents were informed that a law is presently in use that states that both parents/tutors of home schooled children must be certified by the state in order to take initiative with such a task as teaching their child at home.

The courts are considering sending children who were home taught by tutors/parents who did not hold a state certification at the time the children were receiving education at home back to the classroom. What kind of effect will this have, considering that California holds the largest number of homeschoolers both in the nation and acrossed the country.

I think that there should be some standards set fourth to parents/ tutors who are interested in homeschooling children. The individual who intends on teaching should have some sort of received education. Maybe rather than having a certification, if the state sets standards that they need to follow inorder to assure that these children are receiving the education required for this particular state. The state if they felt it necessary could make up some sort of test that would follow the guidelines of what the children are supposed to be learning to ensure that they are being educated properly.

What book is on your nightstand?

How many students read for fun? Berkeley College did a survey of three different generations of 1987, 1997, and 2007. Tollefson tells the top picks for ecah year. The top picks for 1987 is "The Color Purple, The Fountainhead, Catcher in the Rye, Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas, Black Boy, Clan of the Cave Bear, If Tomorrow Comes, Less than Zero, and Native Son" (1). The top picks for 1997 is "The Fountainhead, A Hundred Secret Senses, Catcher in the Rye, The Firm, The Kitchen God's Wife, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Joy Luck Club, The Bible, Pride and Prejudice, The Lost World, The Brothers Karamozov, and The Great Gatsby" (1). For 2007 is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Kite Runner, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 1984, Pride and Prejudice, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Catcher in the Rye, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2).

The tends I see is the books in the 1987 to 2007 have more different cultures to influence the different audiences. In 1987, most of these books are American. The 2007 books, have came across the world to be read by Americans. I have read Potter, and some of these books for fun. I am trying to read into classics for not class material. Of course, college students are very busy with tons of homework and part-time jobs. Somedays I want to rest, but I turn to my nightstand. My copy of Little Women sit there with a bookmark near the first couple chapters. I take it, and read for a few moments. I love to read magic, but I am a firm believer to not shut out all the books. There is so many books to read, and I think if college students try. They can find a few moments to read something funny, mysterious, scary, or just weird to get out of the boring task of reading textbooks.

Turnitin turns it out of the courts

Many students have taken a class that now requires them to turn a paper into turnitin.com, which is an anti-plagiarism web-site. Recently according to Dennis Carter of e-school news, Turnitin.com received news that they case against them involving copyright infringement would be thrown out, because copyright infringement is allowed for news reporting, comment, and teaching. The judge Hilton, stated that although turnitin turns a profit, that they public benefit justified a profit.

Turnitin.com compares student’s work to other submissions and judges whether or not the paper is plagiarized based on percentage of likelihood. Over 7000 school institutions are using this web-site in the hopes of preventing kids from cheating. The widely available papers online has spurred websites such as turnitin.com to become increasingly popular to educators.

I wouldn’t normally mind these anti-plagiarism sites except that one is given no credit for their work. I’m sure most people in this class have recycled a paper at least once in their lives, and although the work is your own, if the original paper is on this site you could get busted for Plagiarism. Now when I say recycle a paper, I do not mean print off two copies and hand it in to two different professors. You would change the paper a little bit, but one might not change the entire paper. These unchanged parts would surely raise a few flags. It is my firm opinion that you cannot plagiarize yourself. It is ok to turn in the same paper if you ask your professor first, is what is taught in Library skills class. However, what if you have two similar paper topics, that one paper can answer, or one paper with slight modifications would answer. Chances are if you use the old paper and revise it, it will be stronger than if you started a new one from scratch.

With the rise of internet plagiarism I’m not surprised that sites like these are gaining popularity. I’m not overly worried about the web-site itself. I just think kids should be given credit or compensation for having a site use their papers. If this was a not-for-profit then this whole mess would not be of issue to me. But someone is making a lot of money on students work.

Education for the 21st Century

It has been five years since the Sacramento City Unified School District redesigned its high schools, and the student progress reports show rising achievement statistics.

Education for the 21st century or "e21" is an effort that aims to keep kids engaged in high school by separating large school districts into small, personal, and career-oriented districts. The program also intends to limit each school to a maximum of five hundred students. There are seven high schools in total; the article mentions three schools: New Technology High School, Health Professions High, and School of Engineering and Sciences.

Since the programs debut, the four-year gradutation rate for SCUSD students has risen from 76.1% to 86.8%, and the amount of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses has increased from 1,637 to 2,133. The article states, "They are graduating in greater numbers, taking more advanced classes and completing more college admissions requirements. Their test scores are up and, perhaps above all else, many report that they feel engaged, challenged and valued for the first time."

If the school district does not have enough money to sustain its "revolutionary but expensive effort," it will not be able to continue the program. It was originally funded by grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As much as this program has helped raise student achievement, I don't think that it is financially feasible for other schools to model their structure and curriculum along the same blueprint. This school received over twelve million dollars to redesign these high schools. How are other schools going to raise this amount of funding when there are thousands of underfunded districts struggling to make ends meet?

One concerned parent that was interviewed in the article said, "If it is such a great program, then why isn't the word out there and why aren't the kids flocking to it?" This is a very valid question and concern.

Keeping the Sexes Together Forever

Although it may be fact that boys and girls have different methods of learning both in and out of the classroom, a new Tel Aviv University study has found that girls improve boys’ grades markedly at school. Boys with more female peers in their classes show higher enrollment rates in both advanced math and science classes, but overall benefits were found in all grades for both sexes. Professor Analia Schlosser, an economist from the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University states, “Being with more girls is good for everybody,” and goes on to say, “We find that both boys and girls do better when there are more girls in the class.” One theory as to why this is is that a higher percentage of girls lowers the amount of classroom disruption and fosters a better relationship between pupils and their teacher, or so the study of the data suggests. Teachers seem to be less tired in classrooms with more girls, and students overall seem to be more satisfied when a high female-to-male ratio persists.
Well, as one of the male persuasion, I have to agree with the findings of this study. When I was in high school, I was apart of our tracked English program, which was always heavily dominated by those of the opposite sex. Honestly, that mere fact alone made me feel like I had something to prove being only one of the three boys to be enrolled in the program. I simply didn't want to look like another "stupid boy" in the eyes of my classmates. I agree with the idea that there is less disruption in the classroom when there are more females present because this has been the case throughout a majority of my high school career. When boys start caring about what girls think of them, I believe that a good percentage make the conscious decision to at least appear intelligent as to better their reputations with the opposite sex. Its funny, but its true.

Teaching wrong ethics

"Lawsuit: State is failing to educate students" by Megan Hawkins and Jennifer Jacobs represents the hardships within a school. "The families allege that state officials have allowed the quality of Iowa's education system to significantly slip, so much so that high school graduates are inadequately prepared for college or the workplace" (Hawkins and Jacobs). Iowa's school officials have argued with the state saying if they had more resourses, then the students would have better classes to equip them for college or the work place. The state officials have presented a "lawsuit that asks the state to adopt measures such as creating a statewide, mandatory curriculum to ensure equal opportunities for all students" (Hawkins). This would also make sure the students would be prepared for future education.

There are too many problems with this proposal. The main problem is the classes would be focused on the test, than the individual student's needs. The students would have to learn the state mandiated curriculum, but the students wouldn't learn individual learning. Some students don't want to continue their education beyond high school. This curriculum would only be pushing these students who want to only get out of high school. The Iowa state officials are pushing too hard to correct the inadequate education. A court room can't foresee all the problems with students. State officials don't understand the students as well as the teachers. Iowa needs to listen to the students. The students knows the hardships of learning, but why make it more difficult than it needs to be. I understand some students don't make President, but I can't see why make learning into a strict curriculum that every student needs to learn about college. Some students just don't want to broaden their knowledge for college. The workplace has plenty of room for adequate learners.

Manga (Graphic Novels) and Shakespeare?

Yeah, it's been around for a while. The concept of graphic novels used as a teaching tool for students. Even Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" has been adapted into graphic novel form. There are concerns that things will be edited out of the graphic novel form and the speeches cut from the script. Also, people are worried that if students can't understand Shakespeare, then they shouldn't be taught it just then.

I think that using graphic novels, especially in Shakespeare, is a great idea. If you combine it with reading the actual text and showing a movie or even play version of it, students will be better able to grasp the ideas behind it. Especially the students who learn by visuals. Incorporating both into the lesson gives learners visual, and if read aloud in class by students, audio cues. It lets students who learn different ways more options.

"Wiley... argue[s] that what the company is doing is really nothing new. These are plays that never were intended to be read as printed words on a page; they were meant to be staged, restaged, interpreted and reinterpreted."

Rejected Leadership Roles

Growing up, we all had heroes. Some of our heroes were real people, like sports stars or celebrities, and some of these heroes were entirely fictional. As we grew older our heroes transitioned from fictional heroes to people we looked up to as leaders. Each set of leaders at one time was the starry-eyed kid looking up to yet another leader.

According to Laura Sessions Stepp, many of our future leaders, are rejecting these roles. The study found that most kids’ aspirations are to make a lot of money or help animals or the environment. While these are important, the study found that most kids had little concern with becoming a leader.

The study which was commissioned by the Girl Scouts of the USA, also found that among kids polled, minorities found themselves to be leaders much more frequently than Caucasian counterparts. Why are kids reluctant to become leaders? The study found that mothers were the most important aspect in determining whether a child would rise to leadership.

As far leadership goes I work at a summer camp where I see the interactions between kids very closely. I have found that I don’t think it is so much an issue of leadership missing, but leadership not being recognized. There is one kid I can think of, that as I’ve observed him, he would not be characterized as a leader in this survey, because he is a bit of a quiet kid. However, I have seen him moderate arguments in a way that is very Socratic, he knows when to ask questions, and he usually is thinking in all of his activities. He influences other kids to do the same.

This study would probably not recognize him, because he is not the type that will lead a fortune 500 company, more so than be a speaker for a small work group. The leadership is out there. As teachers we need to find it, no matter how small a contribution.

Reaching Out, Making Connections: School Liaisons Bridge Parents' Education and Language Gaps

This article decribes how paretns want to get more involved in their children's education and school officials believe the relationships parents and teachers are creating is beneifical to students. The program set up is to help the poor, transient and non-English-speaking parents, who can easily get lost trying to understand what is needed of them and what resources are available to help their students succeed. Teacher use the internet to keep parents invoveld in classsroom discussions and assignment they can complete with their children at home. Resource centers consisting of books and computers are also provided for students and parents to use to help with the learning process. I think this is a great stepping stone in education for all, not only can young children learn in schools but their parents as well, which is helping both parties become more efficient and determined to communicate with not only each other but those around them who are familiar with the English Language. Because this program is successful I believe there should be a program like this in every high school and middle schools if possible, so not only can children make the sometimes difficult transition in the American educational system but their parents can also help and gain more knowledge as well. I know this may not be possible because funding is always an issue if areas are not particularly rich and parents can not contribute to the cause. But if everyone could contribute whatever they were able to give I believe this program would benefit several and help in the development of education for the future.

Elite Colleges Letting in Fewer Students

In a New York Times Article titled, Elite Colleges Reporting Record Lows in Admission, Ivy league colleges state they have let in far less students than ever before. They blame this on the increased competition between students, larger number of students(which is supposedly going to peak this year), the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, aggressive recruiting of a broader range of young people, and ambitious students’ applying to ever more colleges.
America goes on and on about how awful the state of education in this country is and then i hear that Harvard only let in 7.1% of the 27,000 plus students that applied,93 of every 100 applicants, refusing some with perfect SAT test scores. Americans have wanted their students to achieve this kind of success and now that they are ready for higher education, with good transcripts, they cant go to their schools because there are too many students applying. College's should be expanding just like everything else in our growing society and it disgusts me that schools would turn someone devoted to learning down. I know its hard to get into these schools, and the students rejected know how hard it is to get into these schools, because instead of partying and having fun through school they were studying, and what do they have to show for it? The same state college as the guy who drank beer all through high school. I know im over generalizing but this is wrong, students should be able to be challenged by higher education not tossed aside because there are too many of them.

Columbia accepted 8.7%
Brown and Dartmouth 13%

“We love the people we admitted, but we also love a very large number of the people who we were not able to admit,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard College. (Im sure that makes the rejected feel better!)
"Ten years ago, slightly fewer than 12,000 students applied to Yale, compared with the 22,813 who applied this year, Mr. Brenzel said. Yale’s admittance rate — the proportion of applicants offered admission — was nearly 18 percent in 1998, more than double the rate this year."
So when less kids applied more got in, the same amount should be getting in no matter how many actually apply...
And where is the pat on the back for a job well done for the kid with the perfect SAT but no Ivy league school....MAKE YOUR COLLEGES BIGGER TO FIT THE DEMANDS OF THE POPULATION!