A Storm In A Teacup At Miami Dade Public Schools By Patricia Hawke

Controversy over Book Ban Rattles Miami Schools

Miami Dade Public schools have been rocked by allegations of throwing aside civil liberties in favor of pleasing parts of the local populace. First came the unnecessary controversy over an innocuous children’s book that portrayed life in Cuba from a child’s perspective. The book “A Visit to Cuba” was not a prescribed textbook for young children in Miami schools, rather it was part of the school library. A young Cuban American girl bought the book home and showed it to her father; a Cuban dissident and political prisoner who was upset at the soft picture the book portrayed of life under Castro. He immediately notified the Miami Dade public schools’ authorities who proceed to place the book under a ban. Miami’s strong Cuban American population supported the ban on the book in Miami schools’ arguing that reading the book could create the wrong impression in young children’s minds about the reality of life in Cuba. The American Civil Liberties jumped into the fray and filed a lawsuit against the ban calling it unconstitutional.

Book Ban – A Knee-Jerk Reaction by Miami Schools?

A few weeks later another book found itself at the center of a storm in Miami Dade Public schools. This time it was Cuban Kids, a children’s book that portrayed a couple of Cuban children on the cover dressed in what seem to be Scout uniforms- but are reportedly uniforms of the young revolutionaries, ( a group that all school children in Cuba are required to be members of). Parents of Cuban American children in Miami schools say the book gives young children the impression that the lives of Cuban children is the same as the lives of American children. They argue that young impressionable minds are not able to filter party mouthpiece rhetoric from fact and risk being brainwashed by books like these that do not portray the true picture of life under Castro for students in Miami schools.

The argument seems a little too simplistic. Civil liberties activists and critics of the book ban agree that it would be hypocritical for a country that claims to uphold democratic ideals the way ours does, to allow react with a knee-jerk response to the contents of a book. What, they ask, would be the difference between Castro’s Cuba and the land of the free if the simple decision of whether or not to read a book is taken away from its citizens? While parents of Cuban American children in Miami Dade Public schools, many of them having arrived at this country after extended stays in Cuban prisons, do have a point in being concerned about the impression that their children and others will receive through these books-they don’t need to be. In a situation like this keeping the lines of communication between parents and children open can go a long way to help children separate the grain from the chaff and come away with a true picture of the ground reality in the Communist nation. Banning a book, any book is not the solution.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=187440&ca=Education

How To Pursue A Health Care Degree Online By Andy West

Thanks to the increase in online educational opportunities, you can now get your health care degree online. However, just because the decision to continue your education has gotten easier, doesn't mean that you should rush into it. Your degree is a major step in the advancement of your career. Before making any final decisions, you will need to consider your options carefully.

Here are several steps you should take before pursuing a health care degree online.

1: Envision your career. This may sound like a no-brainer, especially for someone who already knows they want to pursue a health care degree online. However, you would be surprised how many people dive in without knowing first what they want to do with their degree once they complete it. Before you make any decisions regarding your degree, first think about and write down, if possible, your career vision. Include as many concrete goals as you can put into words. You will need to keep this vision in mind as you are looking at schools.

2: Compile a list of schools you are interested in. Before you begin researching any one school in depth, you should create an overview of all the schools you are interested in. You will narrow them down later; right now it is more important to make sure you are aware of all your options. To find schools that offer a health care degree online, you can do an Internet search, check with the library, or ask for referrals from friends and co-workers. If you already hold a job in the health care industry, your employer may also provide resources for finding schools and pursuing degrees.

3: Research each school's program in order to narrow down your list. Some of the schools on your list you will be able to eliminate pretty quickly. With others, you will only decide after researching the school and its program. Regardless, it is important not to decide on a program without knowing first exactly what you will be getting for your money. Ask to see information on the curriculum, including graduation requirements and course descriptions. Research the school's instructors, reading their bios and taking note of which classes each teaches. Finally, verify the school's reputation with employers in the industry. You don't want to go through all the trouble to earn a health care degree online, just to find out that employers don't have any faith in your school's graduates.

4: Arrange for financial aid. Once you have chosen a school, or even once you have narrowed your options down to two or three schools, you should start applying for financial aid. Aid is typically given out on a first-come, first-served basis, so waiting too long can cost you, quite literally. Although the financial aid process can be somewhat intimidating, the financial aid office at your chosen school should be happy to help you.

5: Study and prosper. If you haven't already enrolled, now is the time to do so. Having made an educated decision on what school to attend, you can now relax and focus on doing the coursework necessary to get your health care degree online.

Deciding what school to attend should never be a one-off decision. You are paying a lot of money for your education, not to mention putting a lot of time and effort into earning your degree, and you have every right to the best education that money and effort can buy. Before pursuing your health care degree online, follow the steps above to make sure you are making the best possible move for your career.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=187502&ca=Education