Current Connection 2.1

In an article called "Have Your Children Had Their Anti-Smoking Shots?"  According to social psychologist William McGuire  "People wont change their  minds about things people have always taken for granted, because people have little, if any practice resisting attacks on attitudes that no one ever questions."

Taking this a little farther he decided to do an experiment and see if he could get people to resist arguing on topics they could easily refute. He used two different views of resistance; one being resistance to disease and psychological and resistance to persuasion. People's bodies produce other anti-bodies that make them immuned to whatever the attacking agent is. So for example, if there is a mother who is pregnant and she's out here partying, living it up, drinking, smoking, doing drugs...chances are the babies going to come out very un-healthy (addicted to drugs, more chances of becoming an alcholic, druggy, etc.) if the baby makes it out alive then like I said before the baby will be addicted to drugs and whatever else the mother was doing while carrying the child inside of her stomach.

   Since these two different views of resistance, they decided to see if attitude inoculation could be used to help parents, teachers, and social service agents deal with a pressing social problem, CIGARETTE SMOKING. According to a study, it seems that children age 10 or 12 always seem to be reporting how they don't like cigarettes. While other kids, from about middle school to adolescence start smoking from being peer pressured or thinking its "cool". It seems that these young adolescence change their attitudes about smoking because they tend to try it and like it. A young teenager who knows nothing about anything yet, as myself, may try a cigarette and LOVE it, BUT an older person say whose in their 20's or 30's, such as an older sibling of mine, would try it and throw up. We all have our different opinions and taste of different things. As you can see, every one has their own addiction, should parents start making their children get the vaccination for the anti-smoking? Would you? If it were me, I probably would just because I would know that in the future my child has the higher/better risk at being one of those kids who doesn't give in and smoke a cigarette, or fall for that "coolness" whatever the case may be. But you also have to ask yourselves; Whats in the vaccination? What are the side effects (if any)? Always make sure you know what you're getting into youreself, also applies for you're child or whoever it may be.

Linked Picture
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=0lOrSf2LV6bSNM&tbnid=-_fAT2x7MqdkZM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2Fpoll%2F2012%2Fjun%2F29%2Fsmoking-ban-england-five-years&ei=Bad9UreJJsnckQeWgYHwAg&bvm=bv.56146854,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNH9EfMwnXitDzUh_REP6sijhXB26Q&ust=1384052798492952

Worked Cited 
Botvin, G. J., Schinke, S., Orlandi, M. A. (1995). School-based health promotion: Substance abuse and sexual behavior. Applied & Preventive Psychology, Vol. 4, pp. 167-184.

Ellickson, P. L., & Bell, R. M. (1990). Drug prevention in junior high: A multi-site longitudinal test. Science, 247 (4948), 1299-1305.

Hirschman, R. S., & Leventhal, H. (1989). Preventing smoking behavior in school children: An initial test of a cognitive-developmental program. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 19, pp. 559-583.

McGuire, W. J. (1961). Resistance to persuasion conferred by active and passive prior refutation of the same and alternative counterarguments. Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, Vol. 63, pp. 326-332.

Myers, D. G. (2002). Social Psychology (7th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Perry, C. L., Killen, J., Slinkard, L. A., & McAlister, A. L. (1980). Peer teaching and smoking prevention among junior high students. Adolescence, Vol. 15, pp. 277-281.

Watts, W. A., & McGuire, W. J. (1964). Persistence of induced opinion change and retention of the inducing message contents.Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, Vol. 68, pp. 233-241.

Current Connection 1.2

Default Rates Continue to Rise For Federal Student Loans

      According to The U.S Department Of Education http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/default-rates-

continue-rise-federal-student-loans. The federal government burrowing of student loans and not paying them 

back is rising tremendously. The national two year cohort default rate rose from 13.4% for FY 2009 to 

14.7% for FY 2010.The Department is replacing its CDR calculations from two-year to three-year 

calculations as required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Congress included this 

provision in the law because more borrowers default after the two-year monitoring period; thus, the 

three-year CDR better reflects the percentage of borrowers who ultimately default on their federal 

student loans.

     

     The FY 2010 three-year cohort default rate is the second that the Department has issued, following 

the release of last year’s FY 2009 three-year cohort default rate. Under the law, only three-year rates 

will be calculated starting next year. At that time, THREE 3-year rates will have been calculated (FY 

2009 published in 2012, FY 2010 published in 2013, and FY 2011 published in 2014).

   

      “The growing number of students who have defaulted on their federal student loans is troubling,” 

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “The Department will continue to work with institutions 

and borrowers to ensure that student debt is affordable. We remain committed to building a shared 

partnership with states, local governments, institutions, and students—as well as the business, labor, 

and philanthropic leaders—to improve college affordability for millions of students and families.” I think 

that if you KNOW you cannot pay back the student loan when you first go and talk to you're financial 

aid person about how much you will be getting back in student loans, and they offer something that 

you know is way out of you're range to pay back then SAY SOMETHING TO THEM. It's pointless to me 

that our government is sending these people money to pay for their college when they aren't paying 

them back for it. That's one of the reason were probably in trillions of dollars in debt. 

     To ensure that students are aware of the flexible income-driven loan repayment options available 

through Federal Student Aid (FSA), this fall the Department will expand its outreach efforts to 

struggling borrowers to inform them about the different plans. The Department has also released new 

loan counseling tools to help students and families make more informed decisions about planning for 

college.

     I agree with the above statement. I think we do need to be able to pay back our loans, not just for 

our beneficial profits but also for our countries. Having a department that will work with the families 

struggling to pay back their student loans is a awesome thing too have. You do need to always plan, 

plan, plan before entering college and figuring out how you're going to pay for it. 

Are High-schools failing their Students?

Are High-schools failing their Students?

In a recent article on the web, “Are High-schools failing their students” they question does getting a high-school diploma guarantee you’re ready for work or college? Are the teachers at our school preparing us correctly and in all the right areas? They should be.

“Employers expect more, the students must be able to communicate effectively, think critically, analyze and interpret data and evaluate a variety of materials.” I agree with this statement, the educational system that the young adults are learning at, should prepare us to enter the real world. It should have us set to be independent and only count on ourselves. Do they do it? To me, in all honesty, I see them trying. The subjects that we get taught aren’t easy, their about hard as they come. It’s up to the teachers to get into the lesson plan, and get inside our brains, and hold our attention the whole class period to get us educated and informed.

“ According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), at least 28 percent of students entering four-year public colleges in the fall of 2000 were required to take remedial courses when they started, especially in mathematics and language arts, as did 42 percent of those enrolled in two-year public colleges (NCES, 2004).” Does this tell us something? 28% of all students entering college for their four-year degrees have to go to remedial classes when they started. Seems to me as the educators that are suppose to be educating us aren’t doing a very good job at it. We have all heard the teachers say “My job is to teach you all you need too know, and have you college/career ready.” Well, with that being said it doesn’t seem  that they are following that statement very well.

According to some critics, “ETS found that 84% of highly paid professionals had taken algebra 2 or higher level of mathematic courses as where only 30% of low-to-moderately skilled and low-paid workers had done so.” So, with this being said, I guess you could say there is a pretty big difference in ‘College Prep’ and ‘Smart Core’. But for a well-educated, handsome, intelligent, young man, like myself. I think that I will do fine with only taking ‘Smart Core’ I took my full 4 years of mathematics in High-school to get my diploma. Yes, Math is one of my weak spot, BUT that does not mean that I won’t get a good paying job and make something of myself.

My connection I have to this article is really a connection with my school. Our school is a very good school when it comes up education and the way our educators do things. Do I think they could do better? Of course! You can always do better at what you’re doing when you put you’re mind to it. I can connect this to myself, and my school because I’m not taking any math classes this year, I’ve decided to wait and take college algebra whenever I start college, and take a break from mathematics for my senior year. As I said earlier, mathematics isn’t my best subject, in-fact it’s my weakest. I have to keep my head in the game, and stay focused on making good grades to get accepted to college. But our educators do a good job at pushing us by I guess you could say “scaring” us and saying things to make us want to get our head out of our bottoms and DO WORK. All education systems are different because all the teachers who are teaching are different. If you’re a teacher and you don’t absolutely love you’re job….chances are you’re students aren’t going to love that subject you’re teaching them.

As you can see, I have my personal opinions on my educators and how they do their jobs. But just like everyone else in this world, I’m not the only one. You see, it’s all up to you as an educator (teacher) to actually make that student “College and Career ready” when they receive that diploma and step out into the real world. You can either love you’re job and make class fun, not only for you but for you’re students as well…OR you can not love you’re job and just be there because you HAVE to be in order to make money for yourself and the student not love the subject either. In my opinion, If you don’t love being a teacher and you are… GO FIND A NEW JOB. The teachers attitude towards the students have A LOT to do with what kind of grades the students make, and what they’ll learn when they leave the school. 

Why Hold Innocent People Hostage?

   
I don't think that it's right for anyone to be held hostage against their will. Why even do that to innocent people? Some hostages end up losing their lives over it.

According to the article called "Algeria Hostage Crisis"   In Algeria there are some people being held hostage at a local engineering company. Some reports have said " An official says two more Japanese citizens have been confirmed to have died during a hostage crisis last week in Algeria, bringing the total number to nine. One Japanese worker remains missing."

"The victims worked for a Japanese engineering company, JGC Corp., at a natural gas plant in the Sahara desert. Seven other Japanese workers for the company survived the hostage taking" The Japanese that took over the place and took people in Hostage are ones that had worked at the engineering company. Reports say that some of the employees had made it out in time and coming out un-hurt. But some of the others weren't so lucky. 

Another thing I don't understand is how can you work somewhere with people that you've became close to and end up becoming good friends with and then all the sudden take them into hostage, hold them against their will, and some of them being killed? This world is just getting crazier by the second. It's not only in America. The Chief government had this to say "Chief Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday that officials found the bodies of the two Japanese among a group of unidentified victims."  Just imagine finding one of your co-workers bodies, or getting a call from the officials being told that your loved one has been killed. How does such a person do a thing? I don't agree nor understand anything that seems to be happening now days. To me it's unbelievable that these kind of things happen. "One Japanese national is still missing. Japan is the foreign country to have suffered the heaviest confirmed loss of life during the Islamist militant attack on a Saharan gas plant." We think that our country, America is the only one doing stupid things and going thru stuff? Look around the world, were not the only one's. Japan has suffered quite a few losses. Don't you ever wonder, what were they thinking before they took their last breath? What was the massacre thinking? Like I said, I will NEVER understand the cruelness that has become so popular in today's world. I hope that people soon to realize what their doing not only in Japan but in America will have an effect on our future's society.