• Americans head north for affordable college degrees

    As the costs of education continue to soar, a growing number of young people are considering Canadian colleges where the tuition is a fraction of what students pay in the U.S. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

     

    Rehema Ellis and Jeff Black, NBC News writes

    MONTREAL, Canada -- Eric Andreasen is a college student from Portland, Maine, who has his sights set on a career working for a lawmaker in the nation’s capital.

    But even though the political science major plans to go straight to Capitol Hill when he graduates this spring, he will have a degree from a Canadian college -- McGill University in Montreal.

    NBC News

    Eric Andreasen, 23, from Portland, Maine, is studying political science at McGill University in Montreal.

    Back when Andreasen, 23, was deciding where to go to college, he applied to a dozen U.S. schools. When it came time to choose, he narrowed it down to either George Washington in D.C. or McGill just north of the border.

    McGill offered him a full undergraduate university education for what it would have cost for just one year at G.W.
    “When the financial packages came in, it was a no-brainer for me,” Andreasen said.

    Indeed, with strained family budgets and the soaring cost of tuition at American schools, the coveted university degree often comes with just too much debt for many students.

    About one in six people who owe money on their student loans is in default. Such a debt load is a harsh reality that is forcing a growing number of young people to look north to Canada for an education they can better afford.

    NBC News

    Leah Ott, 20, from Houston, Texas, is a physiology major at McGill University.

    Six percent of McGill’s student body is American, and the ranks are growing. The number of U.S. students at Canadian colleges rose 50 percent in a decade, and now about 10,000 Americans attend Canadian colleges, according to the Institute for College Access & Success.

    That institute also says graduates from an American university can expect, on average, to carry more than $26,000 in debt. And about 9 percent of those grads default on student loans within two years.

    The largest cost of going to school in the United States is the tuition, which is astronomical compared to Canada. At schools such as the University of Chicago and New York University, the annual tuition tops $40,000, far above their Canadian counterparts, which benefit from a tradition of robust government support.

    Related:
    NYT: Free college options still exist for those willing to build ships, milk cows, salute

    According to each university, here is what it costs for a year of undergraduate tuition at a select group of U.S. and Canadian universities:
    • University of Chicago - $45,945
    • George Washington - $45,780
    • Stanford - $41,250
    • McMaster (Hamilton, Ontario) - $20,966
    • McGill - $14,561
    • University of Winnipeg - $11,115

    For Leah Ott, the financial differences were hard to ignore.

    NBC News

    Students on the campus of McGill University in Montreal.

    “There are three girls in our family and we’re all attending university now,” said Ott, 20, a physiology major from Houston who said she was impressed with the academic reputation of McGill. “Money is definitely a factor.”

    Not only are the costs of tuition lower, but American students can even use college savings plans, U.S. student loans and apply for scholarships at some schools in Canada.

    And according to the students, the application process is simpler, with Canadian universities typically putting less emphasis on essays, recommendations and interviews.

    Said Kathleen Massey, registrar at McGill, “It is the grades and the SAT scores, that combination is what we consider when we look at an applicant’s file.”

    A bachelor's degree from a Canadian university meets a global standard, said Paul Davidson, President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

    “Undergraduate students that complete in Canada have tremendous access to the best graduate programs right around the world,” he said. “So, if you're a student that wants to pursue graduate studies, a Canadian degree will serve you very well, indeed…. They also are a passport to good jobs.”

    Which, along with the price, makes it all the easier for American students to head north.

    “I’m coming out with minimal debt,” said Andreasen. ”It brightens up the prospect of the future for me.”

  • Frequently asked questions about No Child Left Behind

    As states have sought waivers from the 100 percent proficiency requirement of No Child Left Behind, new performance targets were put in place that led to differing expectations for children depending on their race. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

    By Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein, Education Week

    1.  What is the No Child Left Behind Act, and why do some states have waivers from it?

    The No Child Left Behind Act, a federal school-accountability law passed by Congress in 2001, called for all students to be proficient in reading and math by the end of the 2013-14 school year. Schools are required to report on the progress of all students, but they must also break out certain groups of students, including racial minorities, English-language learners, and students in special education. The law is several years overdue for a rewrite, and Congress continues to struggle to pass a new school accountability law. In the meantime, more and more schools appear unlikely to meet that 100 percent proficiency target. The U.S. Department of Education announced in 2010 it would invite states to apply for waivers from that 100 percent goal. (The NCLB Act gives the U.S. Secretary of Education broad authority to waive parts of the law.) As part of the waiver process, federal officials allowed states to propose new, more-realistic academic goals for schools so long as those goals sought to dramatically close the achievement gap between groups of students, such as between racial minorities and their white peers.  

    2. Will all states get a waiver?

    So far, 34 states plus the District of Columbia have been approved for waivers. Several more states are waiting for a decision from federal officials. A few states have indicated they won’t apply for waivers, in part because the federal education department set conditions on waivers. For example, to get a waiver states have to agree to evaluate teachers in part on student test scores. Texas and California, for instance, so far have not submitted waiver applications that adhere to all of the conditions. Any state that does not get a waiver must abide by the NCLB law as written, which includes the goal for 100 percent student proficiency by the end of next school year.

    Controversy over academic standards based on race.

    3.  In states with a waiver, what happens if schools do not meet new academic goals that states set?

    It depends. As part of the waiver process, federal officials allowed states to design their own school accountability systems, creating rewards, consequences, and interventions for schools depending on how well they are educating students. Generally, these new academic goals are used, at a minimum, to identify and help schools with the largest achievement gaps. For some states, the goals are mostly aspirational, with no significant consequences tied to them. Other states make these goals a factor in a letter grade or score that’s given to a particular school. And still in other states, schools that don’t hit these goals can be targeted for specific school-improvement efforts or sanctioned.

    Controversy over academic standards based on race.

    4. What are the arguments for and against the race-based academic goals that many states are using?

    The argument against using race-based targets is that a state is setting different expectations for kids based on their race or their family’s income level, as opposed to having the same high expectations for all students. Some civil rights organizations have raised questions about whether the waivers are unfair to racial minorities, students in special education, or students who are still learning English. But some state and district officials point out that those groups of students are often farther behind their non-minority, more- advantaged peers, and say their waiver plans set high, but achievable goals for closing the gap. What’s more, these new goals often require schools to make faster progress for students who are the farthest behind than for other students.

    5. Historically, why are there such drastic differences in achievement among various groups of students, such as racial minorities, low-income populations, and those in special education?

    Sociologists and educators could spend years debating this question, but there appear to be several reasons. First, students from low-income families tend to struggle more than their peers, no matter what their racial ethnicity. Students from low-income families may come to school hungry, for example, or not have access to high-quality medical care. And schools have long struggled with certain subgroups of students who may or may not be members of an ethnic minority, including students in special education and English-language learners. Generally, however, students tend to do better in school if they are from stable communities, if their parents are educated, and if they had some sort of early-learning opportunity, either at home, or in a more formal setting. Lower income students – including racial minorities, as well as white students – don’t always have access to those resources.

     

  • The art of giving

    An elementary school in one of the poorest communities in the country is teaching its students a lesson in giving, NBC's John Yang reports.

    On Sunday, NBC Nightly News featured a school in Illinois that's teaching children how to give back. They teamed up with a charity in New York called Family-to-Family that sends the children much-needed books and backpacks. Older students at the school then choose books to give to younger ones, and spend time reading to them. 

    To learn more about the organization Family-to-Family, please click here to visit their website. 

  • Massive open online classes raise questions about future of education

    Dozens of elite institutions are now partnering with start-up companies such as Coursera, Udacity and edX, to deliver so-called massive open online courses or MOOCs. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

    Allison Flicker, NBC News writes

    University of Virginia history professor Philip Zelikow has taught the course, "The Modern World: Global History Since 1760" for 16 years -- but this semester is different. Instead of delivering it to 120 students on campus, he'll be teaching 42,000 students around the world.

    While online learning is not new, access to top-notch professors at some of the world's most prestigious universities is. Along with the University of Virginia, Harvard University, Stanford University, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University are among dozens of elite institutions partnering with start-up companies such as Coursera, Udacity and edX, to deliver so-called massive open online courses or MOOCs.

    Now, Greek history at Wesleyan University, poetry at the University of Pennsylvania, astronomy at Duke University, and "Introduction to Music Production" at the Berkley College of Music are all just a click away. And they're absolutely free.

    Since 2011, more than 2.5 million students from around the world have enrolled in MOOCs. Even though they are not offered for college credit and completion rates are low, some educators see the potential to revolutionize higher learning.

    "Thanks to these free online courses, you can shop a range of disciplines and do it all from the comfort at your own home," Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller said.

    Zelikow was apprehensive at first. 

    "I'm not a techie guy who's interested in experimenting with all this computer stuff," he said. "In fact, I was kind of a skeptic about all this online stuff. I thought it was fad-ish."

    But after spending hundreds of hours preparing for this semester's course, Zelikow now sees the potential in expanding online.

    "Bruce Springsteen is involved in selling recorded music to people all over the world. And he also sells tickets to live concerts," Zelikow said. "Nobody thinks the recorded music is just as good as the live concert. But he wants to be in both those lines of business."

    He says there's not only value in reaching thousands of students worldwide, but believes the move online has actually improved his course for those taking it on campus.

    "I thought of ways to use this [online course] to actually re-invent the ways I teach my ordinary class at the university and make it a better class than it used to be, to solve certain problems that are kind of structural problems in the way we teach our residential courses," Zelikow said.

    Dawn Smith, 38, has taken "Fundamentals of Pharmacology" through the University of Pennsylvania and a public health class through Johns Hopkins after deciding to change careers.  

    "I needed some textbook knowledge," Smith said. "I felt in order to be taken seriously as a candidate I needed to show I was doing something proactive."

    Critics of MOOCs complain about their size, saying it leads to minimal student-professor interaction.

    "I've met students from Germany that I've spoken to quite frequently - Australia, Japan, China, and then some in Africa," Smith said.

    Although she would "absolutely recommend" this online platform, Smith acknowledges the limitations, too.

    "There isn't that immediacy of being able to ask a question and then have an answer," Smith said. "There's no one standing in front of you showing you how to do something."

    Other concerns include measuring student progress and the sustainability of these courses over a long period of time.

    Siva Vaidyanathan, University of Virginia media studies professor, says he thinks MOOCs are an "interesting experiment," but that they're just that - an experiment.

    He doesn't believe they can replace a traditional college education.

    "Imagine taking a university and removing all the really fun stuff," Vaidyanathan said. "And all you're left with is me talking to you through a camera. That's not that good for anybody."

    As professors, students and investors navigate this new terrain, there are questions about the potential for profit in the future and the place MOOCs may have in higher education.

    For some, however, these online classes bring about hope.

    "Education is such an equalizer. It raises people's abilities … lets people build a better life," Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng said.

    Even Vaidyanathan sees the silver lining.

    "I hope somewhere in some corner of the world … some child discovers calculus, discovers physics, or discovers poetry through a MOOC and gets … inspired to change the world," he said.  

  • Bus becomes mobile learning center for underprivileged kids

    Estella Pyfrom, a former teacher in Florida, is making a difference in her community by helping underserved children learn more about technology with the use of a mobile classroom she called the 'Brilliant Bus.' NBC's Kerry Sander reports.

    Monday on 'NBC Nightly News,' Kerry Sanders profiled the daughter of migrant farm workers, Estella Pyfrom, who is now providing underserved children with access to technology aboard her 'Brilliant Bus.' It's a project she bankrolled herself after working for decades as a teacher and observing the 'digital divide' first-hand.  

    Click here to visit the Brilliant Bus website and learn more about Pyfrom's organization. 

    Retired teacher Estella Pyfrom, 76, has spent nearly a million dollars -- much of it from her own savings -- to provide Internet and computer access to low-income students in Riviera Beach, Florida.

  • RFID chips let schools track students -- and retain funding -- but some parents object

    Nightly News

    Students wear IDs embedded with electronic chips.

    Charles Hadlock, NBC News writes

    SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Two San Antonio schools have turned to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to help administrators count and track the whereabouts of students on campus.

    Students at Anson Jones Middle School and John Jay High School are required to wear ID cards imbedded with electronic chips, similar to highway toll tags, which allow schools to more accurately record daily attendance.  Public school funding is often tied to the number of students attending class each day. The Northside Independent School District in San Antonio receives about $30 per day in state funding for each student reporting present.

    The RFID tracking system can help schools count students who are in the school building, but may have missed the morning roll call.  On a recent morning at Anson Jones Middle School, where 1,200 attend, the traditional roll call counted 71 students absent.  But the RFID system indicated that eight of those 71 were actually in school that day.  A map indicated several students were in the band hall, where practice was running late, while others were near the office.  That’s eight times $30 or $240 the school would have lost that day in funding. 

    Pascual Gonzalez, Northside’s communications director, estimates the entire district has been losing about $1.7 million a year because of underreported attendance. He says the RFID system, which costs $261,000, should pay for itself in the first year.

    “The revenues that are generated by locating kids who are not in their chairs to answer ‘present,’ but are in the building  –  in the counselor’s office, in the cafeteria, in the hallway, in the gym  –  if we can show they were, in fact, in school, then we can count them present,” he said.

    Principal Wendy Reyes says the system has the added benefit of allowing her to find a particular student instantly.  “Sometimes it’s difficult to locate a student in a sea of 1,200 others, so this helps locate them in an emergency,” she said.

    The ID tags can only be read on campus, so students cannot be tracked outside the building.

    Some parents and students fear the radio ID tags are just too much Big Brother.

    Steve Hernandez, whose daughter is a sophomore, objects to the tags on Biblical grounds.  He compared the badges to the “mark of the beast” as described in the Book of Revelations.  “My daughter,” he says, “should not have to compromise (her) religion just because Northside Independent School District wants to get paid.”

    The American Civil Liberties Union calls the RFID tags “dehumanizing.”

    “What kind of lesson does it teach our children if they’re chipped like cattle and their every movement tracked?” asks Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the ACLU’s Washington, D.C. office.  “It doesn’t create the kind of independent, autonomous people that we want in our democratic society.”

    Gonzalez, Northside’s spokesman, says school administrators have no intention of spying on students.

    “There’s a misconception that somebody’s sitting in a room with a bank full of monitors looking at where 1,200 kids are here at Anson Middle School. That’s not true,” he said. “It’s not even feasible. We’re not staffed nor are we interested in knowing where all the kids are at a particular moment.”

    What the RFID system does do, according to Gonzales, is provide an accurate, daily census of students, which helps the district make money. Based on early results, the district may consider expanding the RFID system to its other 109 schools, encompassing nearly 100,000 students.

  • Chicago parents ask: How long will strike go on?

    As Chicago teachers enter day two of their massive strike, parents and students are struggling with unexpected days off. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

    Kevin Tibbles writes

    CHICAGO – Felicia O’Connor, a young mother with a child in tow, approached the picket line. She asked the picketing teachers if they “know how long this thing will be going on?”


    She leaves for work each day before the sun comes up and said she was unaware of the late night Sunday decision by the Chicago teachers’ union to hit the bricks. 

    Now she is stuck with trying to sort out childcare for her 6- year-old daughter, Michaela. She didn’t get an answer to her question from the teachers.

    “They don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. We’re just out here blank and I have to go to work,” O’Connor said.

    She wound up leaving her daughter in good hands at a local Boys and Girls Club for a few hours while she went out, in vain, in search of a day care. She’s already missed one day of work and hopes her employers will show some understanding.

    “Education is important. If my child is not in school, getting the education she needs, you know what… I don’t know, it is just irritating right now," she said. 

    Parents in Chicago, like Felicia O'Connor seen above, scrambled to find accommodations for their kids after 26,000 teachers and support staff walked out in the nation's third-largest school district. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

    Picking sides
    Two days into this work stoppage by the city’s third largest school district, and one finds folks starting to choose sides.

    Chicago teachers strike day two: Talks stuck on evaluations

    “I haven’t had a raise in seven years,” said one middle-aged woman who walked past me as I stood watching teachers march outside the headquarters of the Chicago School Board. “They’re already making more money than I am.”

    “I support the teachers because I support my kids,” said a young mother who stood and watched teachers march for a few minutes. “My daughter was in a class with more than 35 kids last year; this year it is up to 41.”

    About 26,000 teachers and support staff launched a strike on Monday morning – all dressed in bright red t-shirts and carrying placards – demanding a new contract between the teacher’s union and the city’s school district.

    Other parents complained about a lack of school supplies or decent air conditioning for their kids on sweltering Chicago days.

    One can likely assume the longer this thing drags on, the more entrenched each side is going to get. “Day One” of the strike came with a bit of a party atmosphere. By “Day Two” on Tuesday, teachers had already started fingering the mayor and chanting, “Hey Hey Ho Ho Rahm Emanuel has got to go.”

    NBC Chicago's LIVE Blog: Chicago Teachers Strike

    In Chicago, 26,000 teachers and support staff walked out in the nation's third-largest school district after a weekend of unsuccessful eleventh-hour contract negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago's public schools. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

    Bigger city issues
    Parents also have other concerns that are more a reflection of the city we live in. This has been a particularly deadly year on the streets of Chicago, with the homicide rate up about 30 percent from what it was a year ago. The overwhelming majority of the dead are young minorities. To give kids a "safe haven" during the strike, several churches have opened their doors. 

    “There's so much violence skyrocketing in the city of Chicago. We want our kids to be in a safe place,” said Sergio Ramirez, who runs a “safe haven” in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood. 

    Some 80 percent of kids in Chicago’s schools are provided with breakfast and lunch at school because they come from impoverished backgrounds. The job of teaching here, and administering an education system, has many more challenges than just ensuring kids are learning the 3Rs.

    More content from NBCNews.com:

    Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

     

     

     

  • At one school district, the motto is BYOT - Bring Your Own Technology

    Two years ago, Forsyth County School District outside Atlanta launched a technology program, encouraging students to BYOT – bring your own technology. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

    Craig Stanley, NBC News writes

    iPhones, Nintendos and Kindles — devices synonymous with "fun" — are taking a new role in the classroom, thanks to a new trend in education called Bring Your Own Technology – or BYOT.

    BYOT programs — like the one at Georgia’s Coal Mountain Elementary School — encourage students to bring in their own personal mobile technology — including iPads, Kindle Fires, netbooks — even gaming devices — to use during class.

    “It’s really a simple thing,” says Tim Clark, District Technology Specialist for Forsyth County School District. “Kids have technology in their pockets and [are] taking them to school, but trying to hide them from teachers and from their parents. What we’re trying to do is have the kids take them out of their pockets and use [them] for instruction.”

    Technology can be incorporated into lessons in various ways — serving as a research tool, providing access to educational games and allowing students to create multimedia presentations. Clark says students who don’t have their own devices, or opt not to bring them, can use district-owned laptops and electronic resources.

    He says the program encourages participation and interaction because “it’s not a solitary type of activity where every child is buried in their device … it increases collaboration. It increases communication with the teacher. The teacher sees immediate feedback from the student’s work and the students are able to overcome other difficulties.”

    Tracey Abercrombie, a fifth grade teacher at Coal Mountain, has been impressed with the program in general and praises the difference it has made with her special education students. “I’ve got one [student] who has trouble getting [information],” Abercrombie says. “He can get the ideas formed but there’s a bit of difficulty getting them out verbally. There’s something about typing it, having it come up on that screen. All of a sudden the barrier is gone.”

    Clark says incorporating students’ personal devices in the classroom not only enhances learning, but teaches responsibility. “All of this is putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the students and [we’re] also trying to teach them and guide them to use their devices more effectively…not only taking care of their device and being careful not to drop it, but also wanting to make sure they know where it is at all times so it’s not stolen. [Using] it appropriately so they don’t post inappropriate pictures, so they don’t text inappropriate message to each other.”

    Those involved with the program say students aren’t the only ones with something to gain from BYOT. For example, Clark says teachers “can learn alongside their students instead of having to determine all of the ways that their students should learn … they get to ask questions and discover all these new uses of the devices themselves."

    Abercrombie agrees and has seen her teaching style change since the program began.

    “I thought my role was give them all the knowledge that I’ve got about something and use that textbook and my knowledge together," Abercrombie said. "Now I realize that’s not my job at all. My job is to facilitate them. My job is to point them in the right direction, give them the tools they need and — wow — they can do so much more.”

    Before launching BYOT in Forsyth County Schools, teachers and administrators explained the program’s structure and ground rules to parents and students. At first, Kara Laurie, who has two children at Coal Mountain Elementary, was apprehensive about allowing her kids to bring their devices to school. She says her initial reaction was that it “was a horrible idea … I had the normal parent concerns, you know, are things going to get broken? Are they going to get lost or stolen? And what about those kids that don’t have technology that they could take to school?”

    But as the program got underway, she saw “how much the kids were able to do with it in the classroom. I found that it was a phenomenal idea.”

    “We had to sit down as a class, as a team, and really define our rules because [the students are] used to using it any way at home,” Abercrombie says. “They’re used to … putting everything on Facebook, so we had to have a little talk about … different ways to use these devices in school.”

    Amy Anderson, another parent of two, was comforted by the district’s approach to the program. Her fourth grader uses a netbook in class, while her first grader has a Nintendo 3DS. “The administration "set some very clear ground rules at the beginning and we had to sign an agreement as parents and they had to sign an agreement as students that they would only stay on,” Anderson recalls. The students "have to be on the school network which has all of the filters. If they don’t abide by those, if they use them when they are not supposed to, if they use them incorrectly, then they lose that privilege of being able to bring it in.”

    In 2010, seven schools in Forsyth County School District began BYOT programs. This year, all 35 of the district’s schools are participating. While it is a relatively new idea, BYOT already exists in schools across the country, in states like Texas, Minnesota and Ohio.

    Clark says the district has received positive feedback, along with interest in the program.

    “I’m receiving messages from other districts that would like to come and see the implementation of bring your own technology in their schools … we recently held a tour of BYOT in our district … we had over 100 visitors on that tour. They were not only other districts, but also vendors wanting to understand how it’s impacting [the students].”

    As far as student reaction, Clark says “the students love it…[they] have their devices, they’re learning how to use them in a more responsible way, and they’re being critical thinkers and very creative with their devices in ways that they never would have used them on their own.”

  • Making a Difference: Kids fishing for (and catching) success

    The Florida Fishing Academy is not only teaching kids about the thrill of the catch, it's helping them cope with peer pressure and stay on the right track. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

     By Mark Potter, NBC News

     

    RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — On a morning fishing trip to a reef near the South Florida coast, 13-year-old Ray Moody was having the time of his life as he reeled in an exotic-looking species.

    "Hey, it's a parrotfish," he yelled. "It's blue, it's a slippery blue one."

    Brad Houston/NBC News

    Anthony Del Valle, 16, gets a turn at the helm of Rich Brochu's fishing boat.

    Standing near him along the boat rail was 16-year-old Anthony Del Valle, who had also hooked one. Captain Rich Brochu offered encouragement and a quick angling lesson: "It looks like you may have something there. Yep, keep that rod tip up."

    The weekend trip was part of an after-school fishing program that Brochu, a former police officer and construction company owner, started at his daughter's school in Boynton Beach six years ago to help kids from low-income areas experience the excitement of fishing. Since Brochu opened the Florida Fishing Academy, more than 4,000 students, ages 8 to 18, have signed on to learn the thrill of the catch.

    "It's almost like playing a sport. You don't know what's on the other side; there's a kind of mystery to it," Brochu said. "If they catch a fish that's like 3 inches, it's the biggest smile. They love it."

    Along with ocean conservation, catch-and-release fishing techniques, boating safety and first aid, Brochu also teaches the kids how to avoid peer pressure, the dangers of drug abuse and the advantages of keeping busy and off the street corners.

    "All the kids benefit from activities like this. You know, it gives them something to look forward to," he said. "Obviously, we want to give them a choice in life and hopefully do something better with their life."

    In a high school classroom recently, Brochu and Bob Cawood, another fishing captain who helps teach the program, planned to teach knot-tying, But first, they took a few moments to talk about the dangers of smoking.

    "Cigarettes can cause mouth cancer. If you think that's true, raise your hands," they asked. Most hands went up. A short time later, the two men began teaching how to tie a clinch knot and made a game of it by insisting the students tie them behind their backs. The room erupted in noise and laughter as the students tried to see who could do it fastest.

    Brad Houston/NBC News

    Youngsters get a taste of the sea aboard Ray Brochu's fishing boat.

    Excitement also broke out at gymnasium in Riviera Beach when elementary school students learned how to cast toward plastic fish scattered along the floor, and during foot races for which the children had to first put on life jackets correctly before running to the other side of the room.

    A boating reward

    For students in the program who stay in class, keep out of trouble and do some volunteer work, there is a special reward most of them would never have a chance to experience otherwise. At a dock in Riviera Beach is a colorfully painted 38-foot fishing boat that students can go out on to fish with Brochu and Cawood.

    "Some of these kids have never been on a boat, never been on the beach. That's one of the goals, to get them out here," Brochu said.

    Derrick Campbell, an instructor at Village Academy in Delray Beach, is convinced the fishing program and the promise of boating trips work to inspire good behavior.

    "They're more disciplined. They don't act up," he said. "They know that there's something at the end of the rainbow."

    Vickie Verzi, a single mother, wholeheartedly agrees. She believes the fishing program has been "the salvation" of her teenage son, Donnie, by keeping him engaged and away from troublemakers.

    "It taught him how to fish," she said. "It gave him an interest in something that was good for him, and it gave him a direction in life."

    Donnie now volunteers on the boat and is known among his friends as an accomplished angler.

    Anthony Del Valle's mom, Tania Serrano, is also a fan of the program. "It's a new passion, and it keeps him busy," she said.

    A shark-fishing trip is a particular source of pride for Anthony, and his mom couldn't be happier.

    "A lot of people are like, 'wow, shark fishing?' and I'd rather have him out shark fishing than be hanging out with the sharks on the street."

    For Anthony, the fishing boat not only gives him something to do; it also brings him a sense of inner peace.

    "It gives me a second chance to do something I like and stay out of trouble," he said while cranking his fishing reel. "It just puts me in my own world."

    Sharing the experience

    The nonprofit Florida Fishing Academy program is paid for by donations, grants and fundraisers. Among the supporters is famed marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey, whose foundation wrote large checks to support the school and also supplied the colorful vinyl wrap that covers the boat hull.

    "What a win, win, win situation," said Steve Stock, president of Guy Harvey Inc. "What a great sport this is, but way beyond that, if we can turn some of these kids' lives around, pretty good."

    Brad Houston/NBC News

    Janel Scholine and Nick Corzo, in the background, cast their lures.

    During the recent weekend trip, 16-year-old Janel Scholine reeled in several fish and said she was thrilled to learn a new skill.

    "I love it. It's awesome. I didn't know anything about fishing, and now I do," she said, beaming. In fact, Janel learned so much that she is now a volunteer instructor teaching as many as 50 children at a time an academy program called Angling For A Healthy Future.

    Layne Reyka, also 16, says fishing with captains Brochu and Cawood is a lot of fun and matches his personality: "I'm very competitive, so it's definitely the pursuit and the hunt, whether it be a big fish or a small fish — preferably a big fish!"

    For Brochu, the size and the success of the program are a surprise. His plan had been to work just with the kids at his daughter's school. Since then, he said, the Florida Fishing Academy has taught in 46 Palm Beach County schools.

    "I set out for one goal, and that was to save one kid," he said. "Now it's one child at a time, and we've saved a lot."

    The reward, he said, is in hearing from parents how well their kids are doing and in watching kids fully engaged in a sport he and Cawood love.

    "Bob and I are both on their level. We just enjoy it. It's a great time sharing the experience with them. We're living the dream." he said. "Making a difference is more important to us than making money."

    More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

  • Chinese applications to U.S. schools skyrocket

    The number of Chinese undergraduate students in the U.S. has doubled in the last two years. China's booming economy and the ability of families to pay tuition in full is also playing a big role. NBC's Adrienne Mong reports.

    Adrienne Mong writes

    BEIJING – Wenzy Duan dreams about becoming a delegate to the United Nations.

    “I know this [ambition] is pretty high,” said the 17-year old Beijing native.  “But I think I can give it a shot.” 

    To prepare, Duan wants to study international relations at an American college – someplace like the University of Washington. “I hear [it] is good at social science," she said.

    The University of Washington is one of approximately 10 U.S. universities Duan plans to apply to in the coming year with the help of an education consultant she hired last summer.

    “I know that the scores is not the only thing that the university will consider whether you can get in or not,” said the high school senior.

    Duan is not alone.  Today, China sends more of its students to America than any other country. During the 2010-11 academic year, 157,588 Chinese students were studying in the U.S. – an increase of 23 percent from the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education. 

    The growing market of Chinese students wanting to go to the U.S. has created various cottage industries in China and the U.S. –  among them are education consultants who help students navigate the maze of college applications and "brokers" representing American universities who seek student candidates paying full tuition. But it's also fueled anxiety among American students and their parents about increased competition from abroad.

    Education consultants: the main cottage industry
    “When [Chinese students] decide to come to the U.S. and study in the U.S. school, they have no idea,” said Steven Ma, president of ThinkTank Learning, the consulting group with which Duan is working.  "What do colleges in the U.S. look for anyway?  What do they want?  What type of students they want?  And that’s where we come in.”

    ThinkTank Learning, based in Santa Clara, Calif., offers tutoring and college counseling.  Most of the students contracting its services have been Asian-American, but Ma said increasingly his firm began fielding calls from mainland Chinese families wanting their advice. 

    Eventually ThinkTank Learning opened a branch in Shenzhen in 2009 and then in Beijing a year later.  It charges anywhere from $17,000 to almost $40,000 for tailored consultation packages lasting six to 12 months, dispensing advice on choosing the right schools, writing essays, or preparing for interviews.  

    “They’ll just tell you when you need to get something done by what deadline and how do you prepare your application to the school’s standards,” said Julia Yin, Duan’s mother, a petroleum engineer who hails from Hunan province.  “Basically, everything is DIY [do it yourself.]"

    Go West, Young Man (and Woman)
    China sent its first student to an American college in 1850: A native of Guangdong Province named Yung Wing earned his degree from Yale University, paving the way for thousands more over the following century.

    The flow of students from China to America dried up in the 1950s when the establishment of the People’s Republic of China gave way to tumult and isolation, and did not re-start until 1974 1978.

    From then until just a few years ago, "It was almost all graduate students, most of them funded by the host universities through research assistantships or teaching assistantships," said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president at the Institute of International Education (IIE).

    Now, Chinese undergraduates drive the growth, particularly in the past two years.  At the start of the 2006-07 academic year, 9,955 Chinese undergrads were enrolled in U.S. schools. The following year, that figure jumped to 16,450.  By the 2010-11 academic year, 56,976 undergraduates made up a third of all Chinese students living in the U.S.

    “What you’re seeing is the growth of the middle class of China who can really afford to send their kids to the U.S.,” said Blumenthal.  “The Chinese undergrads are all coming virtually self-funded.”

    Adrienne Mong

    Wenzy Duan (centre) and her mother, Julia Yin, go over college choices with a ThinkTank Learning consultant in Beijing.

    The fact that so many students pay their own way has not gone unnoticed.

    "Foreign students spend about $21 billion a year in the U.S. in tuition and living expenses for them and their families,” said Charles Bennett, Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs at the U.S. embassy in Beijing – where Ambassador Gary Locke has made among his top priorities the expansion of visa processing capacity in China.

    “That’s a very large sum of money for U.S. academic institutions,” continued Bennett, especially as so many face shrinking endowments or reduced state funding.

    The Chinese comprise at least 21 percent of all international students newly enrolled in American schools, which means that they and their families contribute roughly $4 billion to the American economy, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

    Edging out American students in America?
    Recent reports, however, have suggested mainland Chinese students and their ability to pay full tuition are costing American students placement in American colleges. A bankrupt state school system in California – one of the most popular destinations for Chinese students – has meant that its well-regarded schools are seeing record enrollments from out-of-state and international students. 

    For the 2010-11 academic year, California welcomed the most international students – 96,535. And for the tenth year in a row the University of Southern California was the leading host U.S. institution for overseas students, enrolling 8,615, according to the IIE.

    But the IIE argues adding mainland Chinese students is helpful for diversity.  “Most Americans will not study abroad. On the other hand, their careers will be global,” observed Blumenthal.  “They need to learn how to interact with professionals from other countries, and many of them will be from China.  There are very few industries or business not affected by China.”

    Moreover, at the graduate level, Chinese students aren’t competing against American students for a seat in the classroom, according to Blumenthal.  “There still aren’t enough Americans in the pipeline wanting to get graduate training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math,” she said.

    But detractors note other challenges have surfaced as a result of so many Chinese students going to U.S. schools.  Among them is whether some applicants from the mainland are cheating their way into admissions by falsifying their academic records or achievements. 

    One consulting company in Beijing that works U.S. universities, Zinch China, says 90 percent of Chinese undergraduates submit false recommendation letters for their U.S. college applications and that 70 percent enlist someone else to write their essays.

    The dishonesty works the other way, too.  A growing number of “education brokers,” who work on behalf of U.S. institutions to solicit Chinese students, have led to misrepresentations and predatory fees, according to a revealing report from Bloomberg News. Some agents promise admission to top-flight schools, charge exorbitant fees, in some instances including a portion of scholarship funds, and students can end up at schools that are a far cry from the "dream schools" they hope to attend.  

    Can China produce innovative thinkers?
    The desire among Chinese students to seek an American college degree has grown stronger over the years owing to a number of factors.

    Adrienne Mong

    The parents of Dolly Luo believe an American college education will improve their daughter's future career prospects.

    Above everything else, there is the fierce competition for gaining admissions to a preeminent Chinese university. The selection process is decided solely by the gaokao, an annual national college entrance examination that lasts nine grueling hours over two to three days.

    This past year, more than 9 million students across China took the gaokao.  And believe it or not, that number has been declining since 2008 as more students opt out of the gaokao and sign up for exams like the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), both of which are generally prerequisites for applying to any U.S. college or university.

    A lively debate is growing about whether China’s education system can produce innovative thinkers who can enable the country to lead – not just catch up with or follow in the footsteps of industrialized economies like the U.S. or Britain. Such concerns triggered a widespread discussion online when Steve Jobs died earlier this year.

    “The students here are not as robotic as Americans think,” said Gene Hwang, a 27-year-old Taiwanese-American, who has been working in China for ThinkTank Learning for almost two years.  “But they are held back by some of the systems in schools, which emphasize rote memorization….  We work with them on [developing] critical thinking.”

    Broadening those horizons
    “When I get into America, I can get [a liberal] education [that] could open my mind,” said Zhang Yuqi, a soft-spoken but intense 17-year-old high school senior.

    He’s been working with a ThinkTank Learning consultant for three months, reviewing which schools to apply to and working on his essays.  A possible math major, he has his eye on Carnegie-Mellon and Emory where he hopes to find a climate that differs from his elite Beijing high school, which he says has too many “planned activities.”

    Duan wants to study in the U.S., because “they accept all different kinds of different ideas.  You can dream about anything,” she said.  “In America, I can experience more…maybe all kinds of things I will never experience in China.”

    For high school junior Dolly Luo, it's simply about getting the best education.  “The U.S. has the most well-developed college education," said the 16-year-old Beijing native who loves Harry Potter and dreams about attending an Ivy League college.

    Her parents have similar faith in the U.S. college experience.

    “She will have more opportunities, and it will broaden her horizons,” said William Luo.  In fact, Dolly’s father had harbored his own U.S. scholarly ambitions, but he didn’t have the financial resources to enable him to pursue his graduate studies in America.

    “I hope when Dolly goes abroad and she learns American values or Western values that she can absorb the Western education – the good parts: the culture, the education,” continued Luo.  “In China, we would need that.” 

  • The Waldorf Way: Silicon Valley school eschews technology

    By Rehema Ellis
    NBC News

    From the moment you walk into the Waldorf School of the Peninsula there are clear signs that something different is happening.

    Allysun Sokolowski, a third-grade teacher,  greets each one of her 29 students by name and shakes their hand as they enter the classroom. It's easy for her because she's known these kids at the Los Altos, Calif., school for a while.

    "I've been teaching the same children from first grade, second grade and now we're in third grade. And I will teach these children all the way through eighth grade," she said.

    It's the Waldorf way.

    Teachers establish a strong bond with students. As a result, Waldorf teachers quickly point out there's no need for tests or grades.

    "I don't need grades to know how well they're doing," said Sokolowski. "I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses. I know what will be hard for them and where they will shine. I'm their teacher with a capital 't.'"

    The intense student-teacher connection might help explain why students from elementary to high school are thriving. The school boasts a nearly perfect graduation rate.

    Despite being in the heart of Silicon Valley, Waldorf students are not caught up in the gadget frenzy that has consumed so many other school children nationwide. Computers are not used in the elementary school and they are used sparingly at the high school level. Teachers say they're not anti-technology, but, as they put it, they're just in favor of healthy education.

    Read the New York Times’ report on the Waldorf school

    "I'm concerned that if we say we need technology to engage students we're missing the fact that what engages students is good teachers and good teaching," said Lisa Babinet, a Waldorf math teacher.

    I asked a group of high school students if they misssed having computers and iPads as part of their lessons they all emphatically said "No."

    The San Antonio Elementary School focuses on technology and feels it helps close the achievement gap in under-served communities by getting students ready for the digital age.

    "I don't think we're gonna be left behind at all because it's not like we're not a part of technology at all," said sophomore Isabelle Senteno. "We are a part of it, we just don't incorporate it in the lessons."

    Jack Pelose, a freshman who transferred to Waldorf from a school that used a lot of technology, said he noticed the benefits of not using computers in class. "My cursive has gotten a lot better since I've been here," he said.

    "Everything about technology is so easy to pick up and use nowadays," added senior Zach Wurtz added. "The companies design it so anyone can use it when they choose to."

    The students talked about being annoyed sometimes when they hang out with friends who are not Waldorf students, who spend a lot of time on social networking sites and texting.

    Video: At another Silicon Valley school, iPads are in vogue

    One Waldorf student said he sometimes has to ask his friends to put down the gadgets so they can just talk.

    And if you're wondering, like I did, how the Waldorf education translates in the outside world, Laila Waheed, a graduate now in her first year of college, offered some insight.

    Waheed, 18, has a laptop but never takes it to lectures. She takes notes by hand -- like she did at Waldorf -- and she later transfers her notes into her computer. It's a form of studying, she said.

    "If you stood at the back of the classroom and looked at every screen, at least half of them would be on Facebook," Waheed said of all the other students who are typing away on their laptops during lectures.

    "A Waldorf education gives you a foundation to say, 'OK, I can put my phone in my bag. I can have a half-an-hour conversation with a person. I don't need to be totally connected all the time,'" Waheed said. "And that's more valuable for making personal connections that will last longer than the next text you're going to get."

    It sounds like something a Waldorf student would say. But it’s also a sentiment echoed by her father, an engineer manager at Cisco.

    "I don't think anyone is debating the value of technology and the use of computers," Muneer Waheed said. "There is no going back. This is the future."

    But he and his wife have been clear about wanting the mostly technology-free zone that Waldorf provides for their two children.

    "They need the environment and the foundation to develop and get their core values -- the love of education and their own passion," he said. "That's what's going to stay with them. The computer is just a tool."

    See more of Rehema Ellis' reporting on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams Wednesday evening.

  • Shanghai kids show intense spirit for learning

    Susan Kroll/NBC News

    By Rehema Ellis
    NBC News Chief Education Correspondent

    Before I arrived in Shanghai, I had this image of people obediently doing what they were told because that's what happens in Communist China, right? I thought that would explain how Shanghai's 15-year-olds managed to beat their competition - including the United States - on international tests in reading, math and science. They did so well on the tests, I thought, because the government gives them the tools they need. They are admonished by everyone around them to study hard and they do.

    I saw some of that when I visited Yucai High School in Shanghai, where I met a young student, Xing Hao, who actually took the international tests.

    "The math is not very difficult," he said in perfect English, "because I studied."

    But Xing Hao went on to say he was self-motivated to study hard because his goal is “to organize to protect ocean creatures so [he has] to study to attend a good college to make [his] dream come true."

    China's college entrance exams are grueling and are viewed as the gateway to adult success. In Shanghai, a city of 23 million people - almost three times the size of New York City - there is a lot of competition and students had better be prepared. But beyond a commitment to work hard, what I found in China is that Shanghai's academic success is rooted in a national culture that embraces education as a real asset.

    It should be mentioned, however, that the academic success in China's largest city has not yet spread to the vast rural areas such as Loudi in Hunan Province, about 1,000 miles from Shanghai. There, I visited an elementary school surrounded by rice paddies. The buildings were in disrepair. Children sat at worn out desks and worked with broken pencils and pens.

    Susan Kroll/NBC News

    But their spirit for learning was intense and inspiring. Twelve-year-old Wang Zhihong told me her parents and grandparents want her to be a doctor. The harsh reality is that only 25 percent of rural Chinese kids go to college, versus 80 percent in Shanghai and 70 percent in the United States. But Zhihong and her family know nothing about those numbers and their dreams are still big.

    Back in Shanghai, students like Xing Hao are well aware that they are helping to enhance their nation's image. And yet, I saw something in Xing Hao and many of his classmates that wasn't just obedience to an idea. I got the sense that he really believes in the importance of learning. He didn't sound coached or rehearsed.

    He went on to say he'd like to have more free time "to expand [his] horizons." But he told me that pursuit of idle pleasures will come later - after he's taken care of the business of getting an education.

    For about 900 students at Yucai High School getting an education doesn't involve the latest high-tech tools. With about 40 students per class, I didn't see any Smart Boards or iPads in classrooms. I saw only one computer in the science lab. I did see many motivated and engaging teachers. Shanghai prides itself on teacher training.

    There were other indications that the Chinese society as a whole is genuinely interested in Shanghai students. From the gardeners at Yucai High who meticulously cared for the campus grounds dotted with Confucius statues, to the lunch room workers who served healthful dishes of rice, meat and steamed vegetables, to the security staff members who were polite and watchful, they all seemed focused on creating the best learning environment possible for kids.

    That environment creates little space for anything besides studying. At Yucai High students watch just 30 minutes of television a day during the school week. The program they watch is the news.

    Susan Kroll/NBC News

    By contrast, American students between the ages of eight and 18 spend an average of seven and a half hours per day using electronics, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's more than 53 hours per week.

    For those who wonder if the rigorous study habits make Chinese students robotic, unimaginative and therefore great test-takers but not great students - who have yet to invent their own Silicon Valley - some Chinese educators also wonder. Teachers told me the government is now encouraging schools and families to give kids more free time to be creative.

    The kids I met were already engaged in creative thinking. They were inquisitive and funny and always polite. During class breaks I saw them fooling around and making jokes. They asked me questions about American life, President Obama, rap music and Oprah. They also wanted to know what other countries I had visited and what life was like there and how it compared to what they learned in school about different places.

    Shanghai kids are studying how global events might have local consequences and it's not just because their government is telling them to. They are starting to think outside the box of preconceived notions that folks have of them. That's what prepared them to ace the international tests.

    There is a lesson there for all of us.

     

    Photos by Susan Kroll, NBC News producer

Older posts