Dealing With Sexual Violence on Campus

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. Last week, we told you about a call for American educators to do more to protect students from sexual violence on campus. The government recently sent a letter telling schools, colleges and universities that such violence is a form of sex discrimination. That means it violates a nineteen seventy-two law against discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. The letter says schools must take steps like making sure victims know their rights and are kept informed about investigations. Victims must also be protected if the accused attacker is still in school with them. Russlyn Ali is the assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education. She and her staff wrote that letter.

RUSSLYN ALI: "Our sense of urgency could not be greater, and as Im sure any parent in America would say, they don't want their child to go to college or school and have to be worried about being raped. And we are going to work with officials to make sure that doesnt happen." One of those officials is Mary Mayhew. She leads efforts to prevent sexual harassment and rape at the University of New Hampshire. That was where Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan released the guidance letter in April. Ms. Mayhew says she believes sexual violence on campuses has actually decreased over the past twenty years. She says schools are getting better at educating students to understand the idea of consent -- or, put more simply, that no means no. MARY MAYHEW: "Between nineteen eightyeight and two thousand was when we really started implementing education campaigns about what consent is. So we educated, you know, the

population and that did amount to some degree of prevention." Ms. Mayhew says the warning from the government to pay more attention to the problem might lead more schools to start or expand their programs. At the same time, however, it might also lead to an increase in reports of sexual assaults. Not necessarily because the problem has gotten worse, she says, but because more students will know their rights and be willing to report attacks on campus. Russlyn Ali at the Education Department says the government is ready to take action against schools that fail to protect their students. RUSSLYN ALI: "Where there are violations, and in the case where officials are not willing to comply with the nations civil rights laws, we will enforce the laws vigorously." And thats the VOA Special English Education Report. If you missed last week's report, or if you want to read that nineteen-page letter, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And, while you're there, tell us how schools and government officials in

your country deal with this issue. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruis

US Schools Under Pressure to Deal With Sexual Violence

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. Federal officials in the United States are telling schools that they need to do a better job of preventing sexual violence and helping victims. The Obama administration has released the first guidance on how schools should deal with the problem under a nineteen seventy-two law. That law is known as Title Nine. It bars discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The Department of Education says sexual violence is a form of sexual harassment of students which violates Title Nine.

Last month, Vice President Joe Biden joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the University of New Hampshire to announce the new efforts. Secretary Duncan says the problem has not received enough attention. ARNE DUNCAN: "Sexual violence is one of those issues we all wish didnt exist. And too often, our society has chosen to ignore it, rather than confronting it openly and honestly. And that denial must end. Every school would like to believe it's immune from sexual violence, but the facts suggest otherwise." A study found that one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college. About six percent of male college students say they have also been victims. Mr. Duncan said that by some estimates, more than one in ten high school girls are physically forced to have sex in or out of school. He said the numbers are probably low because many sex crimes are never reported. In one recent school year, public schools reported eight hundred rapes or attempted rapes

and almost four thousand other cases of sexual violence. The Education Department has written a nineteen-page letter to all school systems, colleges and universities that accept federal money. It explains requirements for them under Title Nine in dealing with sexual violence. These include making sure victims know their rights and are kept informed about the progress of the investigation. Schools must also protect victims from suspects who may still be in school with them. Secretary Duncan says police and prosecutors have their job to do, but schools also share responsibility under federal civil rights laws. Investigations of sexual violence often take too long, he says, and the victims are not taken seriously. Victims are more likely to do poorly in school, get depressed and abuse drugs and alcohol. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. We'll have more on this subject next week. You can find links to information about

dealing with sexual violence in schools at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also post comments on our website and on the VOA Learning English page on Facebook. I'm Christopher Cruise

A School That Teaches Children to Eat Better

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. About one-fifth of Americans age six to nineteen are considered overweight. To reduce those numbers, some schools are teaching children to make better food choices. TEACHER AND STUDENT: "So I can have spinach and what, who can give me one combination. Spinach and -- Diego?" "Eggplant?" "Eggplant. Spinach and eggplant. So here is my first combination."

Hannah Chen is teaching the eight and nine year olds in this math class in Washington how to make sets. HANNAH CHEN: "We just incorporated food into different types of combinations, like with the pizza we had two types of toppings that the kids can provide, and figuring out the different combinations using those toppings." The EW Stokes Public Charter School has started to include food topics in its third-grade math and English teaching. The school formed a partnership with Seedling Projects, an environmental group in San Francisco, California. Peter Nalli is a curriculum director for the program called Farm to Desk. He says they are doing this in part to address the issue of childhood obesity. PETER NALLI: "One of the main components of our program is our belief that if kids are exposed to positive and healthy messaging about food throughout the instructional day, that has the most potential to impact long-term change."

School chef Makeisha Daye says the school buys most of its food from local farms, but the students grow some themselves. MAKEISHA DAYE: "They are replanting everything now so that we will be using fresh herbs, fresh vegetables straight from our garden. So, the children, they love it." Teacher Hannah Chen agrees. HANNAH CHEN: "We have a salad bar at the school, and now the kids love the salad bar. They love the fruits and vegetables. So I think it is making a big difference in their lives." She says the third graders have also learned to read the sugar and fat content listed on food packages. She says the EW Stokes Public Charter School in Washington plans to expand the Farm to Desk program to other grades next year. Charter schools get public money but do not have to follow the same rules as traditional public schools.

Many charter schools have specialized areas of study -- like Environmental Charter High School near Los Angeles. Students learn the importance of protecting the environment. Rigo Estrada says he used to be the kind of person who threw trash on the street. RIGO ESTRADA: "But now that I have seen firsthand videos, I have done beach cleanups, I have helped develop like water-catchment systems, I have taught elementary schools like the importance of water conservation, I know the importance of green and that it actually is a really serious topic." Students also learn how to prepare a business plan that they can use to help pay for college. They learn from teachers and outside experts like Nancy Gale. She owns an environmentally friendly business that makes handbags. NANCY GALE: "The idea behind the program is that if these kids see what they can do together and what they can accomplish, that they recognize that their skills extend into the same

real world as kids that go to successful private schools." And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, available online at voaspecialenglish.com and on the VOA Learning English on Facebook. I'm Steve Ember.

Thousands of US Teachers Lose Jobs as States Cut Budgets

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. America's recession ended in June of two thousand nine but recovery has been slow. Many states face budget problems and have cut spending in areas including education. In California, thousands of teachers have lost their jobs. Veronica Pellegrin received a layoff notice in the mail. VERONICA PELLEGRIN: "Getting the letter and seeing [you] will no longer be employed, your services will no longer be required -- it is

very disheartening, to say the least, and frustrating." Sixty percent of the teachers at the MariposaNabi primary school in Los Angeles have received layoff notices. Salvador Rodriguez, the school principal, has been able to provide computers for his students. SALVADOR RODRIGUEZ: "We have to keep going and make it the best year possible with all these changes." But fewer teachers mean bigger classes at his school. Mr. Rodriguez says there used to be twenty students to a teacher. By next year, he expects nearly thirty students in a class. SALVADOR RODRIQUEZ: "If you cut personnel, they can not give that individual attention." Teachers say this is true especially in schools with large immigrant populations where English is not the first language of many students.

Los Angeles has the nation's second-largest public school system after New York City. The district has dismissed ten to twelve percent of its staff during the past two years. About half of those laid off were teachers, says John Deasy, the head of the Los Angeles Unified School District. JOHN DEASY: "The recession has had an enormous impact on the state budget and we have had a huge drop in funding." An education professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, John Rogers, says other states have also laid off teachers. JOHN ROGERS: "Some projections estimate that across the country, one hundred sixty thousand teachers have received layoff notices this spring." But he says the situation in California is worse because the state was already facing a budget deficit before the recession. Also, California was spending less per student than the national average.

Primary and secondary schools in California receive most of their funding from the state government. AJ Duffy is president of the United Teachers Los Angeles union. Mr. Duffy says the amount of funding each year depends on the economy. AJ DUFFY: "In the past two and a half to three years, we have lost twenty billion dollars in funding for public education." And Superintendent John Deasy expects more changes if the state budget does not improve. JOHN DEASY: "We are cutting all of our librarians, our nurses. We would be forced to close and consolidate schools." Most California school districts have already reduced the number of days per year that students must attend classes. Other states are also talking about shortening the school year to save money. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can read and listen to this program

and watch a related video at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

A Social Network Aims to Speed Up Progress in Science

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. A few years ago, a university researcher was having problems with an experiment that involved medical imaging. His adviser and his friends had no solutions. The researcher was Ijad Madisch at Harvard in Massachusetts. IJAD MADISCH: "I was so frustrated. I said, you know, there has to be something online where I go, where people can, you know, present themselves as a scientist, and where they put their information about their research and their publications and you can search for it." The solution was to start a scientific network to connect researchers and share information. ResearchGate is similar to another social network developed at Harvard -- Facebook. But

Mr. Madisch says the purpose of his site is to make scientists more productive. IJAD MADISCH: "My goal: to win the Nobel Prize. And I really believe in that. Like, if we think that ResearchGate will accelerate research in all the different fields, it will change the speed of science significantly in the future. So i definitely do believe that ResearchGate could win the Nobel Prize for that one day." Investors liked the idea, including a former Facebook executive and the same investment group that put money into Twitter. So far, nine hundred thousand people have signed up as members of ResearchGate. CAROLINE MOORE-KOCHLACS: "Logging in ... " One of those users is Caroline Moore-Kochlacs at Boston University. Her profile page shows her picture and her specialty -- neuroscience. It also lists her doctoral adviser and the work she has published. She can follow other researchers and click onto group pages that discuss different subjects.

CAROLINE MOORE-KOCHLACS: "Lets see whats going on in the computational neuroscience group today." She also uses Facebook but says people almost never discuss science there. She says on ResearchGate she can ask questions and learn about what other researchers are working on before they publish their results. She can also learn about recently published science. CAROLINE MOORE-KOCHLACS: "The scientific literature is so huge at this point, that its really impossible to get through everything in your topic area. People really rely on hearing it from other people." ResearchGate developer Ijad Madisch says he knows his site will only prove valuable if scientists use it to help each other. But not every user is pleased with it. Kim Bertrand at the Harvard School of Public Health is an epidemiologist -- someone who studies the spread and control of diseases. Ms. Bertrand says she finds more value in her own

offline network of researchers and advisers than in this online network. KIM BERTRAND: "Sometimes I get these emails that are like: 'Dear Sirs: Im writing a dissertation on public health. Any suggestions? Please advise.' I dont need that." And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. Do you use a social network for work or just for fun? Post your comments on the VOA Learning English page on Facebook or at voaspecialenglish.com. There, you can also download program transcripts and MP3s and get podcasts. I'm Steve Ember.

Kids in Britain + Online Tutors in India = Divided Opinions

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. India was once a colony in the British Empire. But now Indian tutors are helping to teach math to some British children over high-speed Internet connections.

Early results suggest that online tutoring may improve student performance. But not everyone is happy at this so-called outsourcing of tutors. (SOUND) Its three-thirty in the afternoon at Raynham Primary School in London. Students are gathering for their after-school math lesson. Five time zones and thousands of kilometers away, their math tutors are also arriving for class. (SOUND) Each pupil gets an individual online tutor. The students work with activities on their computer screen and wear a headset and microphone to talk to their tutor. Their classroom teacher, Altus Basson, says he has seen an improvement in results. ALTUS BASSON: " Children who struggle to focus in class focus a lot better on the laptops." Nine-year-old Samia Abdul-Kadir says she enjoys the online lessons.

SAMIA ABDUL-KADIR: "It helps me because sometimes when were doing it in class, I dont hear the teacher very much and I dont understand, but online is better." Her friend, Abdul-Fadil Badori, agrees. ABDUL-FADIL BADORI: "Online, you can hear it, its not shared by everyone, everyone has different topics theyre learning." Tom Hooper started the company that provides the online tutoring. The company is called BrightSpark Education. TOM HOOPER: "Children today feel very confident online, they feel very engaged, they feel very in control. And thats half the battle with education. Give them control, make them feel confident and enjoy their learning and youll see them start to improve and embrace it." Online tutoring costs between twenty and twenty-five dollars an hour. An online tutor is about half the cost of traditional face-to-face coaching.

But some people say an Internet connection is not enough of a connection for teaching and learning. Kevin Courtney is deputy general secretary of Britain's National Union of Teachers. KEVIN COURTNEY: "We think theres something that's a really important emotional connection between a teacher and a child, whether its a whole class or whether its one-toone. You need that immediacy of feedback, and were not convinced that that can happen across an Internet connection. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we think that we can afford to have teachers with the genuine emotional connection there with the children." BrightSpark Education says the online tutoring is used only as an addition to supplement regular teaching. The company says its service does not represent a threat to teachers jobs in Britain. Some parents say they are satisfied with the results. And what about the children? CHILDREN: "I love it!" "I love it!" "I hate maths!"

So math -- or, as the British call it, maths -- is still not everyone's favorite subject even with the latest technology to teach it. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can watch a video of the online tutoring by going to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember

A Push to Get More Indonesians to Study in US

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. The Obama administration wants to double the number of Indonesians studying in the United States. More than fifty American universities recently attended an education fair in Jakarta as part of a visit by a top American trade official. The United States is reaching out to fastgrowing economies like Indonesia and Vietnam as new markets for American goods and services. International students put an estimated nineteen billion dollars into the American economy last year.

Last June, the Obama administration set a fiveyear goal to increase university partnerships and student exchanges with Indonesia. The subjects include agriculture, business and information technology. Micro-scholarships will support intensive language training programs for Indonesians, and for more Americans to study there. Ambassador Scot Marciel says student exchanges create a personal basis for better relations. But he says the United States has to work harder to get more Indonesians to study in America. SCOT MARCIEL: "We have to do a much better job of A) marketing our universities, which are the best in the world; and B) changing this terrible perception that you cant get a student visa. So Im literally almost out on the streets grabbing people as they walk by saying, Hey, well give you a visa if you go study in America." Ambassador Marciel says more than ninety percent of Indonesians who request a visa to

study in the United States are approved. Still, the number coming to the United States has been falling since the Asian financial crisis in nineteen ninety-eight. Last year, there were fewer than seven thousand. That was a loss of about eight percent from two thousand nine. More Indonesians have been choosing to study in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. But the United States still has many of the world's top universities and research centers. English remains a favorite subject among students from Indonesia. However, many are also choosing business and science. Education Minister Mohammad Nur says increased cultural diplomacy will help develop Indonesia and its friendships. (SOUND) There is a lot of history behind Indonesia's relationship with America, he says. That is why it needs to be strengthened. But the world's largest Muslim-majority nation also wants to strengthen ties with other countries and Europe.

Some Indonesian students at the education fair said they are less concerned about where they study than about having enough money to pay for it. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Steve Ember. ___

Grow It Yourself: Turning Bulbs Into Beautiful Blooms

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. Bulbs are underground plant stems. They provide food for a shoot. Some bulbs produce flowers year after year. Gardening experts say tulips, daffodils and other bulbs are not very difficult to grow. Bulbs do well in climates with a cold season. They are placed in the ground about the time of the first frost. But, with the right preparation, they can also grow well in places where the ground never freezes.

Mike Lizotte of American Meadows, an online store, says before you start, you need know whether to plant tender bulbs or hardy bulbs. If you live in a cold area, a tender bulb will need special care when the growing season is over. MIKE LIZOTTE: "If you want that bulb to survive or come back, you would need to literally dig it out of the ground and bring it inside to a warm area because it just -- it will not survive, or it would get killed by the cold temperatures." But Mike Lizotte says a hardy bulb can stay in the ground all year. MIKE LIZOTTE: "A hardy bulb is one that prefers cold temperatures. So therefore it can be left in the ground, such as a daffodil or tulip." Sandra Mason from the University of Illinois Extension service has some suggestions to get a good start on planting bulbs. First, the most important thing is to choose a place with soil that drains well.

SANDRA MASON: "How wet the soil is, that ends up being a big issue. For certain areas, if you have a lot of clay in your soil, you may find that bulbs do not last a long time for you, as in just a couple years. Or you may find they just do not do very well at all, and they actually rot in the soil." Sandra Mason suggests planting most big bulbs like tulips or daffodils about fifteen to twenty centimeters deep. Smaller bulbs can be planted about seven to ten centimeters deep. She says she enjoys planting smaller ones like snowdrop bulbs. SANDRA MASON: "I love planting those because you do not need to dig a very deep hole. We like those!" Bulbs should be planted with their pointed end up, toward the surface. But some bulbs do not seem to have a pointy end. In that case, Ms. Mason says, look for an "eye" that might have a stem. But don't worry if you cannot find one. SANDRA MASON: "The good news is, the bulbs will figure it out."

Do not use fertilizer for the first year. After that, if you do fertilize the bulbs, do not mix the fertilizer in the planting hole. It could burn the roots. There is a trick people can use to grow bulbs in places where the ground never freezes. Keep the bulbs cold in a refrigerator for about three months, then take them out and let them get used to the warmth. Now the bulbs will be ready to develop normally, colorful blooms and all. And thats the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Share your gardening stories and get more advice at voaspecialenglish.com. We're also on the VOA Learning English page on Facebook. Im Bob Doughty.

Children at US School Show Their Support for Victims in Japan

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Cranes are large birds with long legs and necks. In Japan and other East Asian cultures, they represent luck and long life. Japanese tradition says a person who folds one thousand paper cranes gets the right to make a wish. Some schoolchildren in the United States have been folding cranes. They want to show they care about the victims of the March eleventh earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Almost forty Japanese-American students attend Somerville Elementary School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. But all five hundred twenty-five students at the school have heard about the disasters. So they have decorated their school with paper origami cranes. Their wish is for a speedy recovery for the Japanese people. Art teacher Samantha Stankiewicz says the activity gives students a way to express empathy for victims. SAMANTHA STANKIEWICZ: "For children, the folding of the cranes has been a really positive way for them to feel like theyre

actively engaged, even though the cranes are symbolic." These students thought out loud as they folded cranes in the school library. BOY: "The crane is a symbol of hope, so we try to have a lot of hope for those people in Japan." GIRL: "It makes me feel really happy that everyone's caring for another country." GIRL: "I feel sad for them, like really sad for them. But I also feel happy for us, because we are really trying to help out." And that help is not just in the form of paper cranes. The school principal, Lorna OatesSantos, says children at Somerville Elementary have raised about two thousand dollars for disaster relief agencies. LORNA OATES-SANTOS: "We will be donating that money to the American Red Cross and Save the Children. They are two groups that are ready on the ground in Japan to help the people of Japan."

The school has a television club that produces weekly programs on different subjects. Fourthgrade teacher Gabrielle King is director of the club, and says the students are involved in the school's efforts. GABRIELLE KING: "When the earthquake happened, the children wanted to know what they could do to inform other students and raise awareness for the people in Japan. So, we decided to do a show on the earthquake, and to also making the cranes, the origami cranes." Some American children have shown their feelings for the victims in Japan in other ways. Yasuhisa Kawamura is Japan's deputy consul general in New York. YASUHISA KAWAMURA: "One American young girl dropped by the consulate a couple days ago with her own painting. The painting shows the two countries, Japan and the United States, shaking hands over the ocean, and saying 'We are with you.' So, we are very, very moved and touched by this young girl's expression."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. The East Asia Program at Cornell University in the United States has a lesson plan and directions for folding origami cranes. You can find a link at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Meet Some Top Students in the Intel Science Talent Search

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. The Intel Science Talent Search is the top science competition for high school students in the United States. The forty finalists were honored in Washington last week. They met with scientists and politicians. President Obama welcomed them to the White House. These forty students were selected from almost two thousand contestants nationwide. They had to present original research to be judged by professional scientists. The students showed their research projects on large posters. The winners were announced March fifteenth.

Wendy Hawkins is executive director of the Intel Foundation. She says the forty finalists represented excellence across many areas of science. WENDY HAWKINS: These students bring work that is ready for publication and in many cases has already been published in pretty much any branch of science that you can think of: physics, electrical engineering. And the projects are deep and rich and insightful. Selena Li is from Fair Oaks, California. She wanted to find a more effective treatment for liver cancer. She began her research four years ago. A scientist at the University of California, Davis, taught her how to design and do experimental work in the laboratory. SELINA LI: "I researched a new approach to targeting liver cancer by basically starving the liver cancer cells to death, while leaving the normal cells unaffected. And, to go one step further, I blocked a survival pathway to make the treatment more effective."

Ms. Li placed fifth in the Intel Science Talent Search and was awarded thirty thousand dollars. Scott Boisvert lives near Phoenix, Arizona. He began using a laboratory at the University of Arizona at the age of fourteen. Over four years, he completed a project studying a fungus linked to the decrease in amphibians around the world. He was trying to find out if different chemicals and substances in the water could kill the fungus. He collected and tested water samples across Arizona. SCOTT BOISVERT: "My results were able to identify a list of chemicals that were significant in the growth and in the movement of the fungus." He placed tenth in the Intel competition and was awarded twenty thousand dollars. Evan O'Dorney of Danville, California, won the top award of one hundred thousand dollars in this year's Intel Science Talent Search. For his mathematical project, he compared two ways to

estimate the square root of an integer, a number with no fractional parts. Wendy Hawkins at the Intel Foundation says these young people represent the next generation of scientists who will help shape America's future. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. Visit the all-new mobile version of our website where you can read and listen to Special English programs and watch captioned videos. From your phone or other device, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Christopher Cruise.

Debating the Display of Ten Commandments in Public Schools and Buildings

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. In Giles County, Virginia, the school board has removed displays of the Ten Commandments in its schools. The county thought that posting the Ten Commandments, along with the first part of

the United States Constitution, might help increase moral values. There had been few complaints since the Commandments were posted almost twelve years ago. But recently, civil liberties groups had threatened to take the county to court if it did not remove them. The United States Supreme Court permits the Ten Commandments to be on public property so long as the goal of displaying them is not to gain support for religion. But in nineteen eighty, the Court ruled that the Ten Commandments cannot be shown in public schools because displaying them shows support of religion by the government. Jewish and Christian holy books say the Ten Commandments were laws given to the prophet Moses by God. Many Americans believe the country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Many of their beliefs are expressed in the Ten Commandments. They are a set of rules against murder, stealing, cheating, adultery and profanity.

Douglas Laycock is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville. He says the Supreme Court has ruled that governments must be neutral about religious teachings. DOUGLAS LAYCOCK: Putting up the Ten Commandments in a way that promotes the Jewish and Christian scriptures is a violation of the Constitution, and especially if they do it in a public school. Parents are entitled to send their children to school without having to proselytize somebody having somebody elses religion. Officials in Giles County say they may put the Ten Commandments back on the walls of the schools but will add other historical documents. Professor Laycock says it is possible that might satisfy a court. DOUGLAS LAYCOCK: Whether or not they can keep the Ten Commandments on the wall depends on how serious and plausible the things they put around it are. And, whether it looks like a genuine secular display that happens to include the Ten Commandments or whether it looks like

just an excuse for putting this religious document on the wall. Since the Supreme Court ruling in nineteen eighty, more conservative justices have been appointed to the Court. Professor Laycock says some conservative activists believe this new, more conservative Court might be willing to once again permit the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. Tell us what you think about religion in public schools. You can comment at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and MP3s of our reports. And you can find us on Facebook and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruise.

Teaching Children How to Think Internationally

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. The International Primary Curriculum is an idea that began in Britain eight years ago. Today this

curriculum is taught in more than one thousand primary schools in fifty-eight countries, including the United States. Educator Martin Skelton co-wrote the International Primary Curriculum, or IPC. He says for children to learn and succeed, they need a program that permits them to learn individually. MARTIN SKELTON: "Our view is the teachers should be thinking about their kids in their class and why they are not learning and trying to work out what they are going to be doing tomorrow to help individual kids learn much better." He says the idea with the curriculum is to help today's children become good citizens of the world and twenty-first century leaders. MARTIN SKELTON: "Most world problems are going to be solved internationally now. I mean no single country is going to solve the environment or terrorism. It's a multicooperational activity."

Mr. Skelton says the curriculum has activities built around the development of "international mindedness" starting from the age of five. MARTIN SKELTON: "We encourage the kids to make links with schools in other countries, and then of course things like Skype now make that fantastically easy to do." The British American School of Los Angeles is one of a few American private schools that teach the International Primary Curriculum. Second grade teacher Alison Kerr says the main goal is to engage children in the learning process. This term, for example, her class is learning about people important in history. ALLISON KERR: "I got the children to come in secret and dress up with several clues of a famous person. They had to research and bring us ten written clues and the rest of the class had to guess who these significant people were. So the children do not simply just do the same worksheet type of format every single time." The British School in Boston held a fair for students and parents called Around the World in

a Day. Emma Northey, head of primary learning at the school, says fifty-one nationalities were represented. She described one activity designed to teach about similarities between different cultures. EMMA NORTHEY: "The children were each given a passport. They basically knew that they were going around the world in a day and we said to them 'You have to come back with two similarities that you had seen between the different cultures.' Even the three-year-olds came back to me saying 'Gosh, you know everybody writes. Some people write going down. Some people write from left to right, some from right to left." Another educator, Kate Foy of the British School in Washington, says the teacher's role is to enable students to discover for themselves. KATE FOY: "And you kind of have to sit back a little bit. You have to make sure youre asking the right questions. You maneuver yourself around the classroom and enable the children to learn as opposed to telling them."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. Tell us if you have experience with the International Primary Curriculum and what you think of it. Share your comments at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. You can also find captioned videos of our reports at the VOA Learning English channel on YouTube. I'm Steve Ember.

Future Payments for Retirees Are Big Issue Now for US States
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. State and local governments across the United States are facing big budget deficits. Many of these shortfalls include promises of future retirement payments for public employees. Several states have had to borrow money for pension plans that have fallen below required funding levels. Pay and benefits for public workers have been a target as state and local governments try to cut spending. At the same

time, there are efforts in several states to reduce the negotiating rights of public employees. In many cases, public employee unions have agreed to accept lower pay. But they oppose efforts to limit collective bargaining. An effort by Republicans to do that in Wisconsin has led protesters to occupy the state capitol building. Almost every state requires a balanced budget. Yet worries that state and local governments might not be able to repay their debts are now adding to the costs of borrowing. Illinois had to offer a high return of nearly six percent on bonds to be repaid by twenty nineteen. Experts say, on average, public employees are paid less but have better benefits than workers with similar skills in private jobs. However, they say these differences in labor costs are a lot less than some people think. Still, traditional pension plans pay a set amount for as long as a retiree lives. States like Georgia, Michigan, Colorado and Ohio are considering a change for future employees. They might offer

retirement plans similar to what are called 401(k) plans. These are a common form of plan offered by private employers. Employers and workers both put money into the plan. Workers can invest the money in areas like stocks or bonds. Their retirement savings are defined by the return on their investments in the plan. Federal workers already have a savings plan similar to a 401(k). John McGlennon heads the Government Department at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. He says the economic crisis of two thousand eight continues to affect state and local tax collections. Also, many pension funds have less money because their investments have yet to fully recover from the recession. But Professor McGlennon says things could change. JOHN McGLENNON: "In terms of the future, states are not necessarily going to be in a rosy condition in the next couple of years. But they do tend to recover much more rapidly than we tend to anticipate."

And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. For more business news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. Im Steve Ember.

In Class With Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa, Asia

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Peace Corps. President John Kennedy began the program in nineteen sixty-one. The Peace Corps sends American volunteers to provide technical assistance in education and other areas in developing countries. Amanda Pease is one of almost forty volunteers serving in rural schools in Sierra Leone. (SOUND) Ms. Pease teaches science at Saint Josephs, a high school in eastern Sierra Leone. She studied chemical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. She decided to serve

for two years in the Peace Corps after she finished her degree. AMANDA PEASE: "I was trying to decide between going the academic route and doing a postdoctoral degree and go into industry, and then I had been doing some volunteer work and the idea was kind of always of floating around." Peace Corps volunteers left Sierra Leone in nineteen ninety-four because of civil war. But now they are back. Science teachers are in especially short supply. Efforts in Sierra Leone to get more children through primary school have led to crowded high schools. Amanda Pease is the only chemistry and physics teacher at her school. She says she has to work hard to get students more interested in learning, as she thought they would be. AMANDA PEASE: "I kind of had sort of a romantic idea coming to a developing country where everyone is super motivated but just does not have opportunities, and that is not exactly

how it is. Not that I am saying the opportunities are so great, because of course there [are] limited opportunities if you compare it to America, but I think one of the biggest things is literally just motivation." What she loves best about her experience, she says, is the magical moment when students understand a chemical process or ask her for more exercises. More than eight thousand Peace Corps volunteers are currently serving around the world. Volunteers become part of the community where they work and live. Travis Bluemling from Pennsylvania teaches English in a rural Indonesian community. TRAVIS BLUEMLING: Even if some of these kids can't get to college, learning English and at least having some knowledge of the language can separate themselves from the people next to them when they are looking for a job or meeting people. Mr. Bluemling's family expressed concern for his safety in a country where Islamic militants

have sometimes attacked Westerners. But what concerned him, he says, was the thought that leaders in his village might not welcome him. TRAVIS BLUEMLING: "However, I could not have been more wrong. They have allowed me to enter their house. I joined them in their Muslim meetings. I joined them with fasting and I have even entered the mosque." In addition to Indonesia, Peace Corps volunteers in East Asia serve in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia and the Philippines. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. If you have a Peace Corps story to share, go to voaspecialenglish.com or post a comment on our Facebook page at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember

Paying Tech Talents to Drop Out of College

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

What do Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison have in common? They all made billions of dollars in technology. And they all left college. Now, a wealthy businessman is paying other technologically talented young people to follow that same path. Peter Thiel is paying them to drop out or at least to "stop out" of higher education temporarily to work on their interests. He and his Thiel Foundation just announced the first group of what they call 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellows. PETER THIEL: "We selected people on the basis of a combination of having demonstrated intense passion about science and technology and then having the drive to try to carry it forward in the years ahead." There are twenty-four people to be exact, because a couple of projects involve more than one person. One of the youngest is Laura Deming. At twelve she began researching ways to extend human life. Now, at seventeen, she has already

graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Eighteen-year-old John Marbach just finished high school. He hopes to use Web tools to bring classrooms into the digital age. He plans to attend one semester of college before he begins his fellowship. Each of the fellows will receive one hundred thousand dollars over two years to continue their research. They will also receive help from experts. Peter Thiel has a lot of experience with technology start-up businesses. He helped create the electronic payment system PayPal. He was also one of the first investors in Facebook. He himself is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School in California. But Mr. Thiel says college has changed. PETER THIEL: "It's gotten a lot more expensive than when I attended school a quarter of a century ago. And so, if you look at how much college costs have gone up, you now have

people graduating with a quarter million dollars worth of debt and they end up having to spend years or decades paying the debt off." The Obama administration is pushing college. It says over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require more than a high school education. But Peter Thiel says many young people choose college for the wrong reasons. PETER THIEL: "What I ended up doing, and what I think is still true of most of my peers and is true of most people today -- was simply to default into it. Talented, high school, what do you do? You go to college. Good in college, what do you do? You go to law school. Where education and higher education becomes almost this way for not thinking and avoiding thinking about what youre going to do with your life." Mr. Thiel says the young people he is investing in are clear about what they want to do. At the very least, he says, they will gain experience to take back to school if that is what they decide to do.

More than four hundred people from twenty countries applied to the program. Later this year the Thiel Foundation plans to begin taking applications for the next group of fellows under the age of twenty. And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. Tell us what you think at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember

Scholastic Awards Honor Young Artists and Writers

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. (MUSIC) I'm Christopher Cruise. On our program this week, we play music from Lady Gagas latest release.

But first, we tell about the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards high honors for some for young people. And we meet one of the big winners. (MUSIC) Scholastic Awards CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Hundreds of young artists are gathering in New York for a ceremony to honor them and their work. They will receive the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The awards have been in existence for more than eighty years. Some earlier winners have gone on to become famous. They include artist Andy Warhol, writer Sylvia Plath and actor/director Robert Redford . Here is Faith Lapidus with more about the awards and their administrator, the nonprofit group Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. FAITH LAPIDUS: Scholastic is a worldwide publishing, education and media company. It produces books, magazines, film and toys for children. The Scholastic website says a main

goal of the company is to help boys and girls read and learn. The company was formed ninety years ago. The Scholastic Awards for Art and Writing followed soon after. VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: The awards were started in nineteen twenty-three by M. R. Robinson, who wanted to find a way to give recognition and encouragement to students who were creative and who were doing original artistic and literary work in the classroom. Virginia McEnerney is the executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. She says M. R. Robinson saw an imbalance between recognition of success in sports and of that in the arts. These are his words about the awards. VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: The purpose of the awards was to give those high school students who demonstrate superior talent and achievement in things of the spirit and of the mind at least a fraction of the honors and rewards accorded to their athletic classmates for demonstrating their bodily skills.

Virginia McEnerney says the Scholastic founders statement from nineteen twenty-three is still true today. VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: Most high school students spend their high school years walking through hallways filled with trophy cases for athletes. We are still the only national program giving creative teenagers the kind of validation and support fundamental to their development, confidence, to their commitment to their path. Ms. McEnerney says the program has grown. She says only seven young people entered the competition in the first year it was held. This year, she says, there were one hundred eightyfive thousand entries. And, that is almost double the number of entries the Alliance received last year. Why was the growth so intense? Virginia McEnerney says she believes technology was partly responsible. The ability of students to present their work online has made the program open to more young artists. But she believes there may also be cultural reason.

VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: I think theres a big, kind of, maker movement going on, a DIY [do-it-yourself] crafter movement. So theres a lot more handmade work going on. Music and art education budgets have been cut at many American schools in recent years. Also, President Obama and other officials have expressed concern that too few students are seeking degrees in what are called the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math. But Virginia McEnerney says arts should not be ignored. VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: We do hear a lot about STEM, but we also hear learning experts talk about STEAM, putting the arts in the middle. She says the arts help develop imaginative problem-solving and a fearlessness that is successful in any field. The Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards are open to students around the world in grades seven through twelve. The entries are first judged in local competitions. Nominees for

national prizes are sent to New York. The jurors there include famous artists and writers. Virginia McEnenerny says award entries have developed over the years. There is now an award for best video game design. Photo shop programs have affected the kind of images the Alliance receives. But she says jurors often note similar themes or ideas within the entries. VIRGINIA MCENERNEY: This year, for whatever reason, it was dangling feet. And sometimes we couldnt tell if they were dangling or jumping. But last year we saw a lot of pipes and piping. So we do see some resonant imagery. For a link to the award-winning work go to our website at voaspecialenglish.com. David Vo CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Now we meet one of the celebrated young artists. David Vo is an eighteen-year-old in the twelfth grade at Falls Church High School in Virginia. He had a big

smile on his face when he met us to talk about his work, the award and his future. And he has good reason to be happy. He was named a Portfolio Gold Award winner. This highest award comes with a ten thousand dollar prize. David tells about getting the phone call. DAVID VO: Hes like 'I have really good news. Youre one of the winners for a gold portfolio, and along with that you get a tenthousand-dollar scholarship.' And at first I didnt really understand because things just dont happen like that for me. And I went out to my teacher, Miss Sinclair, and her face turned red. Her jaw dropped. David Vo will put the money to good use later this year. DAVID VO: Especially for art school in New York. Because thats quite pricey. David is hoping to attend Parsons the New School of Design in New York City. His art teacher is Donna Sinclair of Falls Church High School. David says he owes much to her.

DAVID VO: She was the one who guided me toward continuing my portfolio. Because I remember during the summer I e-mailed her saying I cant do AP [advanced placement] art this year. I was going to be too busy. And she was like 'David, just test it out for a few months and if you cant do it well switch classes. And it got me to where I am right now.

Winning artist David Vo of Falls Church, VA David Vo has liked art for as long as he can remember. For many years, he painted. He started working with other media after entering high school. He made sculptures for a time. Then a new material caught his eye. DAVID VO: This year I looked at rope and recycled twine and its something people would

look at and say its too difficult to work with, but for me, it stood out to me and it was unique.

artandwriting.org Neckpiece by David Vo

David took this rope and twine and made beautiful neckpieces. Some are large and thick and cream colored. Others are a deep brown. They bend up and around the neck in a strange sculptural display. Almost all completely hide the neck. Or maybe the design is more protective than secretive. DAVID VO: It has a really odd meaning because as a kid growing up, kids bullied me. If it wasnt for my weight, it was for my look. So

when I found this material I was very proud to take something conventionally ugly and make it pretty. David Vo has never before entered his creations into a competition. His message to other hopeful artists is to believe in yourself. DAVID VO: Dont be afraid to take risks. And if you think your piece is perfect, it is. Lady Gaga: "Born This Way" CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Musical artist Lady Gaga has had a big week. Sunday night, she won top pop artist and two other honors at the Billboard Music Awards. Then on Tuesday she released a collection of songs she had promised would be the album of the decade. First-day sales of Born This Way at Amazon.com were so strong that the companys computers slowed, angering some buyers. But reaction to the album is generally good. Steve Ember has more. (MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: That was "Americano," one of the most energetic dance songs on Born This Way. Much of it is sung in the Spanish language. Lady Gaga also sings in German on Born This Way.

AP Lady Gaga

Her songs touch on widely different subjects. They include Christianity, same sex love and the excitement of speeding down a road. Here she slows down the beat with Bloody Mary. (MUSIC)

This week Lady Gaga appeared on the television program, Late Show with David Letterman. She wore black underclothes, high heeled black boots and a black jacket. And a mask. When David Letterman asked why her face was covered, she said, simply, Im Batman. We leave you with her performing The Edge of Glory from the album, Born This Way. (MUSIC) CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Im Christopher Cruise. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.