I think my perspective has changed in a sense of gathering the news and the overall structure of a story.
By seeing and doing it first hand makes me realize how much work it is writing a good story as well as the responsibility factors that come with it.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tenth Story /Enterprise Story
When first starting college, there are a lot of influences that help students do well, and other influences some students wish were there in the beginning.
There are tests that are essential in determining if a high school student is ready to take on college courses. There are also a few standards that some feel may not help as much for these students when determining their future.
Kristen Hunt, a graduate of Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC), first started out as a Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) student. Hunt feels counselors should be more geared towards helping with student's interests, as appose to solely using the grades they're receiving in high school for determining a student’s future.
"I would suggest that they should gear them to help them foster their own interest: To see how they do, instead of taking a transcript of previous grades. I think some of the counselors use a transcript and not what the student was actually capable of," said Hunt.
Andew Perovich, a former student at ARCC, thinks requiring new students to see their counselors would go a long way in contributing to their college success.
Some students believe that ARCC should do a better job in keeping tabs on newer students and their progress. "I never received any counseling as to what classes to take for my major when first starting out. I wasn't sure what I was taking. I just took classes that I enjoyed and to what I thought applied," Perovich said. "It might have been partly my fault though."
Some students do average in high school. But there are no tests to show that a student may excel above standards when learning something they may like doing in college: Even when not doing well in similar high school courses. Hunt said when a counselor saw an early transcript of hers, they thought she shouldn't even bother from looking at her grades: That she wouldn't pass the recommended courses anyways in a particular field.
Several students remarked at how well the resource center and the tutors at ARCC had helped them do well at the college. "The tutors that were made available really helped me out," Perovich said. "I used a math tutor a couple of times. It worked great."
"I'd recommend for the student to sit down with an adviser and talk with them about what they want to do. What they're looking at doing and where they're are at academically. What classes they had in high school, what classes they should go into to help with the direction they want to take," Perovich said. "Does the student have a time line or a money threshold that they cannot go over in amounts of spending?"
Taking extra circular activities in college to some seem like an advantage with helping a student to do well in there respective courses. Some feel that when going this extra distance to play sports or other activities such as music, this in turn makes that same student more committed to doing well in school.
Sarah DeRosier, a current part-time ARCC student, thinks students should participate in extra curricular activities. However, she feels there should be minimal involvement and the minute that it starts to affect their performance in the classroom negatively, they should think about stopping.
Others felt the same in a few areas. "Depends on the activity and whether its academic related or not," said part-time, online ARCC student Carissa Parker. "Most activities I have participated in teach you how to be a better leader and a more motivated, disciplined person in general, so they help in developing qualities that are beneficial academically. But extracurricular activities in excess can have the negative effect by taking too much of a toll on your time, energies and academics," Parker said.
Jason Vanselow, a Music professor at ARCC, feels that students, who take on activities such as basketball, school and a job at the same time, need to be smart about using their time wisely. "It's a good thing but they don't want to be over extended," he said.
Christine Katke, a faculty member of the Wellness Facility at ARCC, thinks all extra circular activities are good for students. She believes that it gives these students an idea on how to stay committed for their work in the classrooms. It helps students learn about leadership and being a part of a team.
When thinking about what might benefit a student more overall, between having a job on campus as apposed to having one in the private sector, some felt it was better to have the on campus job mainly for its convenience.
Hunt felt with most off campus jobs, you're working the evening hours and weekends; the times in which you would study. The jobs on campus are more geared towards students with being more flexible she said.
Some see working on campus as a way of understanding the real world more. "I plan on being a Photographer and I work in the school darkroom as a tutor. I know working on campus as a tutor has helped me understand certain aspects of photo printing that I had never thought of before," said full-time ARCC student Heather Oxendale.
When working on campus, Oxendale has seen problems that she didn't encounter as a Photo student. She learned from the experience of problem solving. Oxendale feels off campus work is just as beneficial. "I learned customer relations and more business aspects of work that I didn't get from tutoring," she said.
Vanselow thinks that when a student is good at something, they should take jobs whether on campus or not to help develop those skills. "It really depends on what the student is good at," he said.
There are tests that are essential in determining if a high school student is ready to take on college courses. There are also a few standards that some feel may not help as much for these students when determining their future.
Kristen Hunt, a graduate of Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC), first started out as a Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) student. Hunt feels counselors should be more geared towards helping with student's interests, as appose to solely using the grades they're receiving in high school for determining a student’s future.
"I would suggest that they should gear them to help them foster their own interest: To see how they do, instead of taking a transcript of previous grades. I think some of the counselors use a transcript and not what the student was actually capable of," said Hunt.
Andew Perovich, a former student at ARCC, thinks requiring new students to see their counselors would go a long way in contributing to their college success.
Some students believe that ARCC should do a better job in keeping tabs on newer students and their progress. "I never received any counseling as to what classes to take for my major when first starting out. I wasn't sure what I was taking. I just took classes that I enjoyed and to what I thought applied," Perovich said. "It might have been partly my fault though."
Some students do average in high school. But there are no tests to show that a student may excel above standards when learning something they may like doing in college: Even when not doing well in similar high school courses. Hunt said when a counselor saw an early transcript of hers, they thought she shouldn't even bother from looking at her grades: That she wouldn't pass the recommended courses anyways in a particular field.
Several students remarked at how well the resource center and the tutors at ARCC had helped them do well at the college. "The tutors that were made available really helped me out," Perovich said. "I used a math tutor a couple of times. It worked great."
"I'd recommend for the student to sit down with an adviser and talk with them about what they want to do. What they're looking at doing and where they're are at academically. What classes they had in high school, what classes they should go into to help with the direction they want to take," Perovich said. "Does the student have a time line or a money threshold that they cannot go over in amounts of spending?"
Taking extra circular activities in college to some seem like an advantage with helping a student to do well in there respective courses. Some feel that when going this extra distance to play sports or other activities such as music, this in turn makes that same student more committed to doing well in school.
Sarah DeRosier, a current part-time ARCC student, thinks students should participate in extra curricular activities. However, she feels there should be minimal involvement and the minute that it starts to affect their performance in the classroom negatively, they should think about stopping.
Others felt the same in a few areas. "Depends on the activity and whether its academic related or not," said part-time, online ARCC student Carissa Parker. "Most activities I have participated in teach you how to be a better leader and a more motivated, disciplined person in general, so they help in developing qualities that are beneficial academically. But extracurricular activities in excess can have the negative effect by taking too much of a toll on your time, energies and academics," Parker said.
Jason Vanselow, a Music professor at ARCC, feels that students, who take on activities such as basketball, school and a job at the same time, need to be smart about using their time wisely. "It's a good thing but they don't want to be over extended," he said.
Christine Katke, a faculty member of the Wellness Facility at ARCC, thinks all extra circular activities are good for students. She believes that it gives these students an idea on how to stay committed for their work in the classrooms. It helps students learn about leadership and being a part of a team.
When thinking about what might benefit a student more overall, between having a job on campus as apposed to having one in the private sector, some felt it was better to have the on campus job mainly for its convenience.
Hunt felt with most off campus jobs, you're working the evening hours and weekends; the times in which you would study. The jobs on campus are more geared towards students with being more flexible she said.
Some see working on campus as a way of understanding the real world more. "I plan on being a Photographer and I work in the school darkroom as a tutor. I know working on campus as a tutor has helped me understand certain aspects of photo printing that I had never thought of before," said full-time ARCC student Heather Oxendale.
When working on campus, Oxendale has seen problems that she didn't encounter as a Photo student. She learned from the experience of problem solving. Oxendale feels off campus work is just as beneficial. "I learned customer relations and more business aspects of work that I didn't get from tutoring," she said.
Vanselow thinks that when a student is good at something, they should take jobs whether on campus or not to help develop those skills. "It really depends on what the student is good at," he said.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Australia Sinking?
A report by the Department of Climate Change has predicted a 1.1-meter sea level rise around the coast of Australia over the next 100 years caused by global warming.
Billions of dollars would be wiped out from the value of approximately 250,000 homes that are near the coast line. Around 80% of Australians now live near the ocean with even more living there with each passing day. "In a changing climate, nothing is certain. The problem with a lot of private and public properties at the moment is their values do not reflect the risk in terms of climate change," said Geoff Withycombe, of Sydney Coastal Councils, which represents 15 local governments.
-Huffingtonpost.com
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Ninth Story
Traveling abroad whether across Germany or throughout the the beautiful mountain valleys of Austria is an experience that cannot be taught in a classroom.
Andy Perovich is a local resident of Coon Rapids who got his start at ARCC. Perovich ended up at Bethel college a few years later receiving a double major in educational studies, elementary education with a minor in social studies.
This social studies teacher and part-time math teacher knows a thing or two about the value of experiencing other cultures. Perovich loves to travel whenever possible.
Perovich took his first trip to Europe earlier this year with a few good friends. They got started by taking a connecting flight from Minneapolis over to Atlanta and then 8 hours later landed in Frankfort, Germany.
Perovich's thirteen day adventure began by driving to a friend's family's place in a small town just north of Frankfort. This city is the fifth largest in Germany and the largest financial center in continental Europe.
"It was cool to see the reminisces of World War II," he said. "Just on our drive from the airport, we saw some of these. In the countryside I saw bunkers, old barbed wire fences, and an old airplane that was from the war." A fading, olive draft painted Douglas C-47 sat near an airport near Frankfort.
"The Douglas C-47 was just like a museum piece sitting out at the airport. It probably had been sitting there since the end of the war," Perovich said. The plane was used by the allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s. These were mainly used for the transportation of troops.
The next day they headed on the autobahn and then into Eastern Germany. Perovich used this express highway, with its advisory speed limit of 80 m.p.h., whenever possible during their trip. Perovich added, "Of course the autobahn was built during Hitler's time."
The architecture everywhere they went was like seeing a museum. "The Medieval city of Rottenburg was very interesting," Perovich said. They kept it well preserved with the old houses and cobble stoned streets." Perovich was quite fond of the food but especially the people there in Germany.
Perovich spoke very little German and on numerous occasions would apologize for not knowing more of their native language. "They were very understanding," he said. In Germany, they're surrounded by so many countries so they are a bit use to the language thing.
Perovich spoke more about the German people, "They are very giving, we were welcomed guests but they are very forward though I learned. Very cut and dry," he said.
Perovich remembered a fun story when in Augsburg, Germany which is in the southeastern part of the country. "My friend hesitated at an intersection and he got a horn from behind him. We all started laughing..no tolerance in Germany. But I think my mom told me that a person's true character comes out behind the wheel of a car. So I think that's really revealing. I mean its very regimented..very structured way of thinking," he said.
Perovich then headed into Prague, which is the capitol and largest city of the Czech Republic. "We toured around and looked at the huge Orthodox Cathedral," he said. They had tons of shops there. It is a beautiful city with a lot of old cultures," he said.
"Its interesting because in the western part of the Czech Republic, a lot of people speak German. The closer you get to Prague the more the Czech language picks up. So about the time you get into Prague, it sounds similar to Russian to me; its a Solavic language and most everyone there speaks Czech," said Perovich.
The cities and the skylines of the Czech Republic were real. They didn't have a lot of brilliant, vibrant colors. A lot of the stuff there is older with stone work, dark greens and grays. "Its like old Europe," Perovich said. " I find that very interesting. I think there's an effort to keep it that way."
After arriving in Austria, Perovich and his companions took the train to Vienna. "Beautiful, beautiful city," he said. "Your not going to beat the architecture in Vienna."
Heading back through Austria, a place Perovich's parents visited in the 50's, and towards Germany, snow topped mountains could be seen in the backdrop.
Back in Germany for their last day, Perovich stayed again with the host family. This time, they celebrated Easter with them. "A lot of the same traditions. They have the boiled eggs. They have meat and cheese, breads, wine and coffee. I found tea is the big thing there," he said. Everything is closed there the Friday before Easter. "Families spend time together," Perovich added.
Most of the foods in Germany are a lot better tasting Perovich thought because the food there is more natural. Natural ingredients and not the processed food like a lot of the food we have here.
One of the things Perovich learned was that his country is not perfect. Their transportation, their rail system is, there's nothing here that can touch it. The Austrian Tran System is fast and its quiet; on time. "Of course the country's smaller so it works for them," he said.
One of the biggest things Perovich admired over there is the people are not typically snobbish about the kind of work that you do. It doesn't matter if your a street sweeper or a doctor. They just wanna know that your working. That your contributing to society. "The people there are very genuine," he said.
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