Kami is a Sesame Street character in South Africa who has HIV and who has lost her mother to AIDS. Kami is currently not a Muppet found in the U.S. version of Sesame Street. In my opinion I do not think that introducing Kami into the U.S. version would be beneficial. Although I think that the lesson of acceptance of others that Kami is used to teach is admirable and important, however, I believe that the doing this while introducing little children to HIV and AIDS is too much. I believe that small children between ages of three and seven, which is the main age range of those who watch Sesame Street, need to remain innocent and naïve. In my opinion children should learn simple basic lessons from Sesame Street such as counting, the letters, and being nice. Acceptance of others would be a good addition to those lessons but I think that this could be done in another way rather than introducing such a serious disease to young children when most do not know what it is, how to comprehend it, or know anyone with it here in the United States. South Africa is a different story in the fact that many children have lost a parent to AIDS or who have HIV themselves. Here in the United States parents can inform their children if they have AIDS or HIV affecting their house hold. I know that HIV and AIDS must be introduced to children here in the United States; I just believe that it shouldn’t happen until children are older and would understand it easier and that this could be done in schools or by parents.
Sesame Street is a children’s show and should remain that way to have children stay as children as long as possible in a world where they must grow up to fast.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Week 6 blog on graduation rates
Over the last two weeks we have been discussing USI's graduation rate and how it compares to the tuition rate. As the class discussed USI's graduation rate, tuition price, and different opinions of the school my eyes were open to things that surprised me and made me rethink what I had heard or thought of the school before coming here.
I was shocked at how low the USI's graduation rate for both the 4 and 6 years. With only 16% of the 2003 class graduating after 4 years and only 37% graduating in less than 6 years I think USI needs to do something to improve these percentages. In class it was mentioned that the admission standards could be raised causing the students who attended USI to be more focused and interested in school. I think the rates could be improved by having high school prepare students better for college. Also I believe that if the class sizes were smaller and teachers at USI had the opportunity to spend more one on one time with students the rates would improve.
In class we discovered that when the tuition is higher the graduation rate is higher as well. I believe they are related in a way but just because the tuition is more doesn’t mean that the graduation rate will be higher. In my opinion most school with higher tuition are private schools and it has been my experience both when I was applying and deciding which school I was going to go to and when my older sister went to a private university that their staff will work more with students one on one to get them scholarships and answer questions. With those scholarships the price becomes close to what it costs to attend a state school. For example, I was between going to USI and UE and when it came to money they price to attend either school was the same maybe even with UE being slightly less than USI. In class it was mentioned that students will attend a less expensive school until they decide for sure what they want to study or to get there generals and that could affect the rates as well. To an extent I agree with this but do not think that is the major factor.
Before I came to USI I was unaware of these rates, how much of a party school this was, and that most individuals thought this was a cheap school to just get generals taken care of. These all shocked me. I thought USI was a university that had students come to it because they wanted to get their degree from them. I also was unaware that most considered this school a cheap place to get generals. Going to school here cost around $10,000 a semester and to me that is expensive. I consider a community college the place to get generals out of the way because you can go there for $2,000 to $3,000 a semester.
I believe that USI needs to worry less about having over 10,000 students and more about keeping them in school and graduating them in 4 to 6 years.
I was shocked at how low the USI's graduation rate for both the 4 and 6 years. With only 16% of the 2003 class graduating after 4 years and only 37% graduating in less than 6 years I think USI needs to do something to improve these percentages. In class it was mentioned that the admission standards could be raised causing the students who attended USI to be more focused and interested in school. I think the rates could be improved by having high school prepare students better for college. Also I believe that if the class sizes were smaller and teachers at USI had the opportunity to spend more one on one time with students the rates would improve.
In class we discovered that when the tuition is higher the graduation rate is higher as well. I believe they are related in a way but just because the tuition is more doesn’t mean that the graduation rate will be higher. In my opinion most school with higher tuition are private schools and it has been my experience both when I was applying and deciding which school I was going to go to and when my older sister went to a private university that their staff will work more with students one on one to get them scholarships and answer questions. With those scholarships the price becomes close to what it costs to attend a state school. For example, I was between going to USI and UE and when it came to money they price to attend either school was the same maybe even with UE being slightly less than USI. In class it was mentioned that students will attend a less expensive school until they decide for sure what they want to study or to get there generals and that could affect the rates as well. To an extent I agree with this but do not think that is the major factor.
Before I came to USI I was unaware of these rates, how much of a party school this was, and that most individuals thought this was a cheap school to just get generals taken care of. These all shocked me. I thought USI was a university that had students come to it because they wanted to get their degree from them. I also was unaware that most considered this school a cheap place to get generals. Going to school here cost around $10,000 a semester and to me that is expensive. I consider a community college the place to get generals out of the way because you can go there for $2,000 to $3,000 a semester.
I believe that USI needs to worry less about having over 10,000 students and more about keeping them in school and graduating them in 4 to 6 years.
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