Tuesday, October 24, 2017



Progressives Push Universities to Aid Illegals, not American Youth


Winnie Stachelberg does not look a very happy soul.  You can see the Leftist anger in her

The Democratic Party’s leading think-tank, the Center for American Progress, is working with illegal aliens and amnesty advocates to encourage colleges and universities to admit and fund more illegal aliens in place of young Americans.

More than 320,000 young illegals have already enrolled in colleges, and “our colleges and universities play a vital role in creating an environment where these young [illegal alien] people can learn, grow and graduate in peace,” said Winnie Stachelberg, a top official at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. She spoke Wednesday at a D.C. event, declaring:

"We’ve gathered here today because we understand the enormous stakes to protect the nearly 800,000 dreamers whose lives have been endangered by Donald Trump"

She touted CAP’S “Generation Project” initiative, which is designed to help illegal aliens get into U.S. colleges and universities. The initiative tells colleges and universities to “support every dreamer and every undocumented student,” to provide campus housing and financial aid to illegals, and to bar campus police from helping to enforce the nation’s immigration laws. CAP is also helping student organizations support illegals at college, she said, adding:

"This kind of leadership will be a huge part of our nation’s push to strengthen protection for dreamers and for all undocumented students. And it will take all of us, outside advocates, school administrators, and campus activists, to let Congress know that it can’t wait to pass the Dream Act"

Laura Emiko Soltis, executive director of the “underground” Freedom University in Atlanta, Georgia, said the U.S. government should recognize that illegal aliens have a right to a taxpayer-funded education at American colleges. “This is a human right,” Soltis said. “This is a basic human right that’s not recognized in the United States.”

The CAP discussion did not address how putting illegal aliens in college displaces young Americans seeking a college education. The panel, which included illegal aliens, also did not say how the illegal population — 11 million at least — affects American students and employees.

According to federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics, millions of young American men are missing out on college:

"In fall 2017, some 20.4 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.1 million since fall 2000.

Females are expected to account for the majority of college and university students in fall 2017: about 11.5 million females will attend in fall 2017, compared with 8.9 million males. Also, more students are expected to attend full time (an estimated 12.6 million students) than part time (about 7.8 million students)

Some 7.0 million students will attend 2-year institutions and 13.4 million will attend 4-year institutions in fall 2017 …

For the 2015–16 academic year, the average annual price for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board was $16,757 at public institutions, $43,065 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,776 at private for-profit institutions. Charges for tuition and required fees averaged $6,613 at public institutions, $31,411 at private nonprofit institutions, and $14,195 at private for-profit institutions"

A 2013 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) described the impact of mass immigration on young Americans:

    "Business lobbyists are constantly calling for an increase in immigration and guest worker programs because increasing the number of job seekers benefits employers by creating an endless pool of cheap labor … Led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, powerful lobbying groups have been able to stymie any real effort to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws on the interior. Accordingly, the balance of economic power has tilted overwhelmingly in favor of employers. Wages have not kept pace with worker productivity, and have not increased in line with soaring corporate profits.

    Americans with lower levels of education and job skills have been hardest hit. many workers in the construction, landscaping, and service industries have been pushed out of the labor force. the H-1B and L visa programs have also suppressed wages in the tech industry and caused many Americans with degrees in those fields to seek employment in non-related occupations. Economic indicators show little promise for substantial recovery in the foreseeable future"

Overall, the federal government is helping companies import several hundred thousand of white-collar workers each year via legal immigration routes, plus the various visa-worker programs, such as the H-1B and OPT programs. The program increases the supply of labor and depresses salaries paid to white-collar Americans. For example, a recent job report by Forrester Research Inc. shows that information-technology experts gained only a 2.2 percent annual salary gain from 2011 to 2018.

Soltis, the executive director at Freedom University said her school for illegal immigrants is based on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights because education is a universal human right. “[It’s] the idea that all people have inherent rights and dignity by virtue of their humanity,” Soltis said, adding that all courses are free. “Not what side of a manmade border they may have been born on or may have crossed in their lifetime, but that they have that inherent dignity.”

“At Freedom University we teach a universal human rights framework so that students don’t think that they are outside the law or that they don’t have rights, which impacts their sense of basic human dignity and worth,” said Soltis, who wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with FU Georgia.

Soltis cited several articles in the UN document that state it is a universal human right to have an education, employment, housing, food, and clothing.

CAP, in fact, is pushing for much more than the protection of DACA students on college campuses.

“In the wake of the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, conversations on how student organizers can work with school administrators to implement policies that are supportive of both DACAmented and undocumented students are more important than ever,” the release on the event said. “Beyond the sanctuary campus movement, we must start talking about the role institutional leaders and campus organizers have in drumming up support for the passage of a clean Dream Act while at the same time working to implement school policies that will support those students who will not be protected or supported by such legislation.”

This push by the liberal think tank comes as Congress debates whether to pass legislation to give amnesty and an eventual pathway to citizenship to more than 800,000 illegal alien youth that is currently protected by DACA.

SOURCE 





Trump pledges $200M to boost STEM programs

Ivanka Trump will be in Detroit on Tuesday, joining Quicken Loans Chairman Dan Gilbert to promote STEM education and a significant pledge from the private sector to boost computer science education.



The White House announced her visit on the same day President Trump signed a presidential memorandum that directs Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, to steer $200 million in funding Congress has already approved to expand STEM and computer science education in U.S. schools.

Ivanka Trump said too many of the nation's K-12 and postsecondary schools lack access to high-quality STEM education.

"Our goal is for every student across our country, from our rural communities to our inner cities, to have access to the education they need to thrive in our modern economy," Ivanka Trump said, according to the transcript of a media call.

"In our guidance to the Department of Education, we are asking that these programs be designed with gender and racial diversity in mind," Ivanka Trump said on the call. "The administration also recognizes and commends the private sector for their leadership in this space, and is leveraging their expertise to jump-start these programs and inspire the next generation of programmers and innovators."

Trump cited a recent Gallup poll that found 60% of K-12 principals surveyed reported having a single computer science course in their schools. She also cited statistics that show the percent of women in the   computer science workforce  declined from 35.3% in 1990 to 22.2% in 2016, "even though women represent 47% of the overall U.S. labor force."

Reed Cordish, assistant to the president, said the $200 million is "a significant investment that does not require additional legislation."

"It references the need to prioritize the recruitment and training of teachers so that we can ensure that our students are receiving the skills and education that they need to compete in today's economy," Cordish said. "And it also references that technology is always evolving and advancing, and that this must be a continued focus for the administration and for the country."

The $200 million isn't new money. A senior administration official said during the call that the president is simply directing the federal department "to prioritize high-quality STEM and computer science. The funding has already been appropriated by Congress, and it's up to the administration to set its priorities, which this president is doing."

SOURCE 





Universities must rediscover the passion for knowledge

General-education courses make learning a tick-box exercise

It’s up to universities to produce well-rounded students, but when courses are forced upon students, they end up doing the opposite. In the US, as it is everywhere, there are more and more students who go to university without a clue of what they want to do with their life. After graduation, many more end up in jobs that have nothing to do with their degree. When they start university, they are forced to sit through a series of subjects they have no interest in because it is said this will help guide them into their career. But these compulsory general-education courses have become pure academic profit-seeking. Instead of swaying students into a career path, they have led to increased apathy and confusion among students.

As tuition fees continue to increase, many students put their university experience on hold to complete their general-education courses at junior colleges instead. Those who do choose to enter into a four-year school immediately often have to endure a series of courses that add no additional value to their course path. For me, on a journalism course, my first-year classes in algebra and art history did nothing to enhance my skills. They just got me in more debt.

Universities have become far less about the enjoyment of learning and far more about their own financial survival – and this is taking its toll on students. I’ve watched many of my classmates switch back and forth between degrees - they wonder which they should aim for or whether the university route was right for them at all. Having students continue to pay for courses that may or may not help them further adds to the confusion. And that confusion doesn’t end when they graduate. It’s rare these days to come across someone who works in the field they went to school for.

Most of my classmates are enthusiastic about the courses that relate to their degree, but often resent the general-education classes they are forced into. Students, including me, often end up spending only a small fraction of time on coursework that does not relate to their chosen subject. These courses are wasted money that feed the ubiquitous disinterest on campus.

At most US universities, you progress down the path to a degree by fulfilling a list of general-education courses that come in limited options. Even in my last year, I’m still paying for classes that don’t benefit my course route except for ticking the box in my degree qualifications. There were several classes I wanted to take that held my interest, but I was unable to because they would not fit the criteria for my degree. Instead, I had to pick whichever classes that were not already full, and which would get me the credits I needed. Many of the courses I was required to take I had already studied before entering university, rendering them redundant and repetitive.

The emphasis on using university solely to get a job after graduating is leading to a major disinterest in actual learning and a decrease in motivation among students. When I tell people about my goals to graduate with Latin honours, I’m often told to save the effort as it won’t matter in the end. As long as I have a degree, I’ll be able to get a job. We’ve lost the ability to foster excellence, hard work and promote the value of education. There has been an increase in the ‘Cs get degrees’ notion, and the tendency to put in only enough effort to make a minimum grade. It is destroying the privilege of having the opportunity to go to university.

General-education courses feed this tick-box culture, while giving students less opportunity to study things that actually interest them. Education stops being enjoyable the second choice is taken away. Students should be able to decide freely what they want to learn instead of being shoved into classes in which they do nothing but surf the internet the whole period. We should be able to enjoy the material that is being covered and learn from it, rather than making minimal effort to pass and gaining nothing from the class itself.

Academic institutions have abandoned the passion for knowledge. Degrees should be earned, not sold. And universities should provide you with the opportunity to learn what you really want to. Instead, they are perpetuating a culture of apathy and putting students under unnecessary financial burden.

SOURCE 



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