2006 OKC Memorial Marathon Training Schedule

2006 OKC Memorial Marathon Training Schedule

Monday	10PM
Wednesday	10PM
Saturday	Always different. Check on Thursday after class.

The Runners:

• Ana
• Benson
• JR
• Daniela
• Lindy

The Relay:

• 1st Leg - 10km/6.2 miles
• 2nd Leg - 5km/3.1 miles
• 3rd Leg - 12km/7.6 miles
• 4th Leg - 5km/3.1 miles
• 5th Leg - 10km/6.2 miles

Leg assignments are to be announced at a later date.

All are welcome to train with us just for fun. The schedule above is to give the opportunity for those that would like to run in a group. All runners are encouraged to train at their own convenience and to strive for a goal of 10K by March 1st. For more information on the marathon, visit http://www.okcmarathon.com

China, Mexico, NAFTA... Oh my!

"As China's economy expands, lagging Mexico looks inward and asks how it can compete... Many point to Mexico's financial instability over the past two decades and its over-reliance on the North American Free Trade Agreement as a development policy as the big problems."

I can say nothing to contribute to this article. It is very well written and takes a "What can Mexico do to compete?" approach that also questions NAFTA and Mexico's dependence on the U.S.. Excellent article. I highly recommend it.

Here's the link:

In the shadow of China's boom

Hmm... the only thing I can contribute is a question: Does the United States, as the most developed country in the Western Hemisphere, have an obligation to assist in Mexico's development or that of other nations in the hemisphere? It would definitely be to the country's advantage. If so, how can the U.S. be proactive?

NY Times Article: China, Korea, Japan

This was our first discussion, prior to the blog being created. There's also a response that never made it to the listserv that I wanted others to read- which is now included in the comments section, author's name removed at request. Also in the comments sections is a link to another article that relates to what the first comment discusses- the preference for English teachers with a White-American face/accent.

Alot of you have approached me after receiving the initial email post expressing your viewpoints and apprehensions about posting replies. We all share your apprehensions in some way. I am clearly not an expert on any of these topics. I can only provide my understanding of them- and on occassion, my understanding may be flawed. But maybe in that flaw, we find a new way to look at the subject. My point is that we're not here to compete on who's the smartest or most knowledgeable, rather, we're here to share knowledge and personal perspectives on topics of all nature so that we can better understand them. So, for those of you that have held back, we look forward to hearing from you this semester.

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NY Times Article: China, Korea, Japan
11/19/2005
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I shouldn't find it weird that I ran into this article today after having a discussion with a friend about the subject just last night, as Mr. Eric Zhang stated himself in class on Thursday, China is the topic of discussion nowadays.

This article touched on some actual literature about anti-Chinese, anti-Korean, and pro-Japanese sentiments of the region.

My friend and I came to the conclusion that while, yes, there are many anti-Anyone and pro-Japanese people/thoughts in Japan, there are also as much people who are not that way- and maybe the opposite. Think of people's impressions of the U.S.! It's funny because I told her that Japan was the Eastern version of the U.S.- superiority complex and all. Then I read the article and they mention the U.S./Western emulation as well.

Anyway, read the article if you like. I found it very interesting

NY Times Article
[Update: The article is archived now and you need to register with the NY Times website to access. Registration is free.]

Feel free reply to everyone with your thoughts on the article/subject. I hardly get to see or talk to you guys anymore, and there's too much collective knowledge to let it go to waste. I miss you guys... =( I'm not saying we'll find any answers =), but hey, it'll give us a better understanding of the situation.

Privatization Report Card: Check Minus

There's an allure to privatize education for two main reasons: 1) to finance education and 2) to fix the broken system. The article from the Chicago-Sun Times talks of this and points to the latter as the main motivator for privatization. What was interesting was that the findings in a new research revealed that public schools did a better job of educating than private schools. We've all heard of how strict requirements lead to a better education in private education and that families that can afford private education are usually the ones attending private schools. But a comparison that included that fact- the affluent vs. the poor- I've never really heard or seen studies/figures before. This article, and source of the article, does just that. One of the statements that really stood out was,

"There's no incentive to design an education that can reach students who are difficult to teach, because there's no profit to be made from teaching poor kids."

This article and study shouldn't be a stop of all privatization, it is simply more to consider in the private/public debate. And that seems to be where I am at with this post and new knowledge. Your thoughts are always welcome.

LINKS:

Privatization is no answer to improving education. [Chicago-Sun Times]

National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education