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pcyxiukai · 7 years

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Allegiance (7)

Description: “Did you have sex with your secretary?”

Notes for update: Reuploaded series, not required

Warning: Smut

Pairing: Byun Baekhyun x Reader

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He did well with separating his business life with when he came home and stayed with me - he was just Baekhyun at home. That had never happened in the past months I was with him. In fact, before this, he seemed as if he was always ready to strike a deal.

He would be home from work any time now. I was waiting for him on the couch, I was actually more than bored when he wasn’t there. The place was too big for one person to be in and I wondered all the time how he handled living alone in it for so long. I wouldn’t ask him that though, in case he didn’t want to talk about it. We were both careful to know each other’s limits.

I didn’t know when I fell asleep, but I was woken up by Baekhyun lifting me up off the couch. He saw my eyes opening and he smiled at me. It was clear to see how tired he was.

“You couldn’t wait for me?” He teased.

“I didn’t know I was tired.” I whined. Soon enough, my back was gently placed against his soft bed before he went to his dresser. He took his jacket off and worked on his tie, facing me again.

“Let’s go somewhere. Just the two of us.” He suggested. “Somewhere we’ve never been before.”

“Right now? I’m tired.” My words made him laugh and when he finished changing, he slid into bed next to me.

“I meant next week or something.” The humor was still laced in his voice, but he was quiet. “I think that it’s time for us to get away for a while.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him.

“I will gladly go anywhere you lead me.” I told him affirmatively. He smiled at me before kissing me softly. Lately, everything had been laid back. Even the times when he came home frustrated from work, he wouldn’t take it out on me like he used to. It would be wrong to say I missed it, but I missed it.

His lips worked against mine and tongue swept across my bottom lip. I immediately submitted to him, hearing him hum in approval. His body shifted so his was on top of mine. I was more excited by his simple actions than I should’ve been.

“I want you.” He mumbled before leaning down again, but this time his lips connected with my neck. His lips were soft, they matched how his fingers felt against my hip. I didn’t even have the words to express how much I wanted him too.

“Then have me.” I whispered to him. The darkness surrounding us was peaceful and quiet, the only sound was the sheets moving as he adjusted himself. He lifted my shirt over my head, trailing his hands up my body before he grabbed my bare breasts, squeezing them gently, his fingers softly tracing over my nipples.

“I don’t have much patience tonight.” He hummed. “I’m going to take you now.” My wetness had now soaked my panties, all I wanted was him. He worked on his clothing and I pushed at my own. I loved feeling his smooth skin under my fingertips. He liked when my nails dug into his shoulders, leaving marks there that only he would be able to see.

His chest brushed against mine as he took my lips with his once again, the soft kiss also had hints of his neediness within it. His tip brushed against my entrance and the breath caught in my throat. With memories of how good it felt the last few times, I could only hope that he wouldn’t tease me.

“Please.” I gasped against his lips. I felt his smirk and he silenced me by reinstating the kiss I’d broken. There was pressure at my entrance before he sheathed himself inside me slowly. I lightly gripped his shoulders, already feeling overwhelmed at his simple action that he’d done many times.

“You’re perfect.” He buried his head in my neck and nipped at the flesh there. “Always so tight on me.” I stifled a moan, feeling him fill me to the brim. My head fell against the pillows and he left kisses from my neck to my collarbone.

“Baek,” I moved my hands from his shoulders to his hair, tangling my fingers in the softness. “Move.” I didn’t have to say anything else. He lifted his head from my neck to look into my eyes when he pulled out slowly only to push back in at the same pace. There was shadowed lust in his eyes, and despite the darkness of the room I still saw the normal gleam there.

“I’ve wanted you since I left this morning.” The only separation of our eye contact was when one of us blinked, his slow pace was almost overwhelming for me while looking into his eyes. I could only think of how I wanted him to go faster, to fuck me hard like he usually would’ve before our argument. I wanted him to let his stress out.

“Baekhyun, I need you to fuck me hard.” I whimpered. “I can’t take it anymore.” His eyes darkened even more and he stilled inside me, seemingly staring right into my soul. He leaned down, nibbling on my earlobe before he spoke.

“Anything for you.” He slammed into me hard, the overwhelming feeling of him making me moan loudly. It was like something clicked in him and now he was back to the dominate man he usually was. Before I could even complain, he had my hands pinned next to my head again.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, hoping to encourage the orgasm approaching me. His tip brushed against my g-spot and my body jolted under his. I didn’t even have time to tell him before I felt the familiar euphoria that only he could give me take me over.

While he was helping me ride out my high, I felt his cum shoot deep inside me. The feeling was becoming more and more comfortable for me. He released my wrists and kissed me. He slid out of me, my whine silenced by his lips.

“You’re so addicting.” He groaned. “All I thought about was you.”

“You could’ve texted me. I would’ve paid you a visit.” I told him as he fell onto the mattress. He pulled me close to him, his chest pressed against my back. He kissed my shoulder.

“I thought you preferred to be here.” He admitted. “You said you wanted me to separate work from home so I figured that would’ve upset you.”

“I said I wanted Baekhyun.” I turned to look at him. “You can be just Baekhyun at work.”

“Then come with me tomorrow.” He replied. This time, I straddling him. He bit his lip, his hands trailing up and down my sides as he looked at me.

“That’s fine with me.” I started to grind my hips against his slowly. “You know I’ll do whatever you want.” I smirked when I felt him hardening against my core again.

“Are you trying to be dominate?” He asked, squeezing my hips to control my grinding.

“Am I?” I tilted my head at him. I giggled when I heard his growl, but I was cut off when he flipped me over, hovering over me. His dark eyes stared right into mine.

“You’ve been testing me too much lately.”

He woke me up in the morning, gently shaking my shoulder. I opened one eyes and saw his sleepy form.

“Come to work with me.” His hands trailed across my stomach and my sides, attempting to keep me awake. “You said you would.”

“You wake up so early.” I whined, rolling over to face him. “Five more minutes.”

“C’mon, sweetheart, as much as I’d love to, I’m gonna be late. And I refuse to go unless you come with me.” His words made me narrow my eyes at him. He chuckled and when he walked to his dresser, I couldn’t help but look at his butt.

I sighed and leaned over the side of the bed to grab the shirt that he changed into (and wore for maybe three minutes) last night. I slid it over my head and stood from his bed. I stretched my arms out before I walked to my own room to find something to wear.

We ended up being ten minutes later than his usual time, and he blamed it on my reluctance to get up. I couldn’t help it, he was nice to wake up to. He had another meeting today so I sat in his office while he was chatting with some guy named Oh Sehun. Another business person, I supposed. I was reading one of the documents on the desk when the door opened.

I hadn’t expected to see his secretary walking through the door. The fact that Baekhyun wasn’t even in here didn’t seem to surprise her. She was the one who set up meetings, after all. She stopped in front of his desk, an angry look on her face. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty, she was gorgeous, but I guess Baekhyun just didn’t take an interest in her.

“Can I help you?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at her.

“You’re not supposed to read those things.” She told me, gesturing to the documents. It was just a bunch of numbers and business plans.

“Baekhyun would’ve put it away if he didn’t want me to see it.” I retorted, going back to reading the papers. “Feel free to go now.”

“You must think you’re special, don’t you?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not the first girl to come in here and pretend to love him.”

“Excuse me? I don’t even know your name and you think you know my whole story.” I stood from the desk. I was taller than her. She still had that mad look to her as she continued to glare at me.

“Mr. Byun -”

“Doesn’t want you.” I interrupted. “And while you’re here pining for his dick that I got last night, I’m actually in a relationship with him.” Her eyes widened.

“Are you sure he doesn’t want me?” She shot back. “He was moaning my name not too long ago.” She was lying. She had to be, but for some reason my heart dropped. What else would I have expected from him, though?

“That’s funny, he plans on firing you today.” I snapped back, not letting her see the drop of my guard. “Get out right now, or I’ll just go interrupt his meeting.”

She didn’t say anything, she threw one more glare my way before she turned around and stomped out of the door. I sat back down in his chair, letting out a long sigh. Her words were coming back to me and I could’ve felt sick. He wouldn’t have lied to me about his damn secretary, would he?

What if all of this ‘love’ shit he was playing off, was just a ploy to get me to stay with him? I shook my head. He wouldn’t do that. These thoughts needed to go. More than anything, I needed his reassurance that I couldn’t have right now.

At that moment I wondered if I should’ve said the things I did, but then I remembered that I had to defend my relationship with Baekhyun to whoever asked - solely for the reason that this wasn’t fake anymore. These feelings for Baekhyun were real, and with the potentially true information she gave me, they were scary.

The door opened again and I immediately looked up to see Baekhyun. He smiled when he saw me sitting in his chair. He walked over to me and I attempted to smile back, but the thoughts were plaguing me now. What would I even ask him?

“Do you want to go grab some lunch?” He asked. “Or I can have something delivered here. Whatever you’d like.” Did he love me? Did he truly love me or was it a plot against my heart? I couldn’t even form any other words - the only ones that came to mind were the ones that slipped from my mouth.

“Did you have sex with your secretary?”

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sheporbust · 7 years

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A Summation of Experiences

My school requires students who study abroad to write a final report, collecting all their experiences and advice into one handy little package. I’ve been thinking of a good way to sum up my time in Bordeaux, and I think this is a good way to do it. It’s fairly long, so please read at your leisure, and if you have any questions feel free to ask them. This is just my experience and thoughts, it won’t be the same for everyone so please take it with a grain of salt. Some of the questions may format or look weird, partly because I’m taking it straight from the document.

1. Describe the city you lived in.

Bordeaux is a city that exhumes the idea of European culture. Statues, monuments, buildings hand crafted in stone decades ago, everywhere you turn is a new piece of art that is passed by as everyday life. While the city maintains much of it’s heritage, newer sections reflect a contemporary minimalist look, and art is spray painted across large stretches of walls. There are three things you will never be able to escape when you go to Bordeaux; cafés, hair-cutters (coiffures), and restaurants. The latter are filled almost every night, with Thursdays seen there as Fridays are seen here.

2. Describe the school and its surroundings.

INSEEC has 2 main campuses in Bordeaux, one that sits directly across from the Garonne River (Rive de Garonne) near the bridge Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, and another school nestled in a narrow alley way called Rue Raze (Raze Street) that is located further up the river in the south. Between the two campuses, they are about a 20-minute walk along the river, which lends itself to tourists and residents alike. The Rue Raze campus was where most classes took place for the Erasmus students, and it was a mix between the stone archways and rooms of the original building, and the updates and drywall needed to make it modern. Unfortunately, windows were not common in many classrooms, and their size was restricted, with small desks and poor ventilation making some class sessions a matter of comfort rather than learning. The other campus (called the Hanger, as it was part of a large outlet chain of connected stores) was a modern building that lost the charm of the stone work but gained larger class room size, windows, and a more comfortable atmosphere overall. Interestingly, still small desks.

3. Compare the student population with Camosun’s, e.g. number of students, student attitude, dress code, etc.

INSEEC is a private school, and while that usually lends a negative connotation in North American terms, in France it is a more open and common term. For France, Universities are paid for by the government either in full or a large part. This creates a large demand, especially with the French population having one of the highest birth rates in Europe (if not the highest) paired with a lack of current jobs. This is caused by 2 main factors; the first being that households more children pay less income tax, with 4 children meaning no income tax. The income tax itself is high, at about 45%. The second is that any employee hired will receive 2 years of full paid salary and benefits if they are terminated or the business goes bankrupt, by the employer. This makes turnaround for jobs very low, as well as lends itself to more strict hiring policies. This is all important because education there plays a larger roll for obtaining employment than it does here. Post-secondary education is looked at less as a learning environment as it is a networking opportunity, and this is where private institutions have focused their efforts. While there is still a learning requirement, with private schools you are paying for the network more than you are the degree. This is shown with the students, many of whom were no doubt from wealthier families as indicated by their clothing choices and emphasis on parties and events. During my 4 months at the school, there was no less than 12 events and parties that were advertised, with a table and cash box set up at the front of the school almost every week. Although I did not work directly with any French students, I was informed by many instructors that many students will write down what is written on power point slides and will not ask questions or dive deeper into a topic. This could be reinforced by the idea that in the classroom the teacher is a deity and that students are merely mortals lucky (and in this case wealthy) enough to be in their presence. A good example of this is the marking scale, which is from zero to twenty. Students will never get a 20, or a 19, and rarely an 18. In fact, 10 is a good grade, while 14-15 is outstanding. This is echoed all through all years of schooling, and the saying goes, “Twenty for God, 19 for the teacher, and the rest is for you”. While this took me a long time to wrap my head around, once an instructor had informed me that it is because no one is perfect things started to become clearer. The French do not look at their grading system as how well you performed for the specific course or class you are taking, but rather at the entirety of the subject. I am still unsure of how French students can cope with this, and perhaps it will elude me for eternity.

4. What on-campus resources are available to students e.g. library, gym, counselling services?

There is no on campus resources available. I did not see a library, there was no gym, counselling services were more offered by specific staff, but that was if they were not busy with their primary job (which they usually were), and the computer room offered small computers that, while loaded with Adobe Premiere and other intensive computer programs, where more for typing and browsing the web. In fact, many students used the computer room for their own computer use, which no doubt overpowered the mini-ATX desktops. The only resource I can think of apart from the computer room was the student lounge, which has table, chairs, a couch, a few microwaves, and a sink.

1. Did you have any difficulties during the application process? Please explain.

The application process was straightforward. The only concern was that it was “mandatory” to take all the classes, except for the 2 labelled optional, as well as it was “mandatory” to attend every class. I put mandatory in quotation marks because throughout the semester there were many students who did not attend every class, and some who even dropped a class altogether, with no notable repercussions seen or heard of. The biggest downside to making something mandatory and not having people attend was that group projects, which comprised for about 95% of all work, meant doing so with one or more less people.

2. When did you register for your classes? ☒ Prior to arrival ☐ Upon arrival

3. Describe the registration process:

Much of the registration process is done at Camosun, with several forms being completed in a slightly different way and submitted to INSEEC. At INSEEC, there was an emphasis that non-European students needed to get the mandatory EU health insurance and incidental insurance for the school. While the first is part of the student VISA requirements and easy to obtain, the second seemed almost impossible, unless you could open a bank account, which was a feat unto itself. Thankfully, both these things were, “mandatory”.

4. Were you required to get a visa? ☒ Yes ☐ No

a. If yes, what type of visa did you apply for? Describe the process, including time and cost.

I applied for a student VISA (3B), which allowed me to forego the cost of processing. The process was straightforward, with all the forms and directions set out on the French Embassy’s website. VISA are required to be submitted no more than 3 months in advance, and any errors will cost about 2 weeks time (1 week to get there, 1 week to get back), so my recommendation is to have the forms in order before the 3 months as processing can take a month or so.

1. Describe what classes and instructors were like and how it compares to Camosun, e.g. teaching style, workload, difficulty, teacher-student relationship, classroom dynamics, etc.

The French education system is famous for being poor. These aren’t my words, they are the words of several of the teachers there, and I think I can see why they would say that. Many of the courses had no structure; no syllabus, grading rubric, consistent or understandable time table (one class had a 5 week break in-between the next class, with 2 classes remaining). Structure was so bad that there was a teacher who did not know he had to prepare a final exam for us (much to our dismay as we then didn’t have any more classes with him, so we did not know what to study for), and one teacher was told there was a class of 20 students that would be attending and they needed a special topic on one expert in the field for the requirement of their home institution. What she got was 7 of us that didn’t need her to change her teaching material. The school even marked the seven of us who attended as being the ones who missed the class, as they didn’t think only seven students would show, not the other way around. The work load is laughable, with many “projects” not even being graded by the teacher. The hardest part comes near the end of the semester as many group projects come all due, and with several different groups of all the same students it becomes logistically troublesome. One of the most frustrating parts is that the instructors will not let you know what is graded, what is not graded, what they are looking for, or give you any feed back once an assignment has been submitted. All my projects, save about a handful, were given a grade and shown to me, with feedback non-existent. When asked how to improve without feedback, one instructor said that we would pick up the positive and negative points about what other students did and use that. I pointed out that if we didn’t know what was good or bad about our own, there was an unlikely chance that we would be able to figure that out about other students. This is a fundamental teaching style of INSEEC, which I described as digging a hole. The course is a small square of grass, what they teach you is all the top of that grass, but then they expect you to dig down on your own to gather more information and to learn more. In theory, this is good, but they will literally let you dig as much as you want, either in the confines of the original square plot or not. Where this runs into problems is that you can go into such depth and work extremely hard on something, and get a mediocre grade (even in French standards) and not know why. Some teachers even told me not to work so hard on it, in which I was awarded a 2/5 (one of the few grades I got back). The teacher-student relationship is hardly there, mostly due to the sporadic class schedule which has little rhyme or reason. Many times, I ran into teachers shocked that we were still at school, and many new teachers thought we were their first class, when we had been at school for months. Teachers at private schools tend to be almost on-call, with many of them working at several different schools. The best teachers I had were much more structured and presented their material extremely well. Unfortunately, these teachers were from North America, and the classes, save one, were mostly about culture and attitudes/belief systems, not marketing/business.

2. What advice do you have to help future students succeed academically at the host institution?

This is hard for me to answer, as I myself do not know if I have succeeded or not. If you have a year of Camosun under your belt then you need not worry. Show up to class, or don’t. Do a project, or not. Little seems to matter there, and some French students even said that Erasmus students are an instant pass. While I’m sceptical of this, I can say that the class projects cannot be worth more than the final exam.

1. Were there any additional fees you had to pay to the host institution? ☐ Yes ☒ No

a. If yes, please describe:

2. What was your average monthly budget?

Rent: €450.00 Food: €200.00

3. What budgeting advice do you have for future study abroad students, specifically ones that are going to this host institution?

Groceries are very cheap, the French believe that living should be a priority in terms of food, healthcare, housing, etc. Having said that, eating out and partying can be quite expensive. The average beer is about 5-6 Euros, so learn to drink wine with goes at around 3-4 Euros. Travel is also cheap, and much of Europe depends on apps to find cheap trains, flights, lodging, and cars to help keep costs down. For housing, ensure that you either have a contract (which can increase your rent by quite a bit, but helps you get deposits back and make sure everything is up to liveable standard) or use AirBnB. Ideally, you want to see the place before hand, but even if you use the unit for a month then move out or ask to stay longer, that’s the safest option. Rent will, most likely, be the largest of your budgeting portion, as there are no requirements for books or any real school supplies.

1. What transportation assistance, if any, did you receive when you arrived?

None. The school does not provide any tram pass, although there are usually student discounts for transportation services, however, they require a student card from INSEEC, which you may not get for some time.

1. Was there an orientation? ☒ Yes ☐ No

a. If yes, describe what it was like. Include activities, tips, and opinions.

The orientation was brief, going over who we were and where we were from, the school’s policies, and then a “mandatory” project due at the end of the week. My advice would be to not listen to anything they say that they say is mandatory, required, etc. INSEEC requires all students be part of a school club, which is good in theory, but results in many not caring. The student club that was supposed to be working with us was seemed more for their own gain, with trips planned and discussed among themselves and us being more asked if we wanted to tag along. In my opinion, anytime the school asks you for money for some event, no matter how fun it sounds, do not go. It rarely, if ever, goes as planned, assuming it is planned at all. There are no teacher oversight or involvement in clubs, they are, to the best of my knowledge, self-regulated.

2. Is there an international office? ☒ Yes ☐ No

3. Did you use any of the services offered by the international office? ☒ Yes ☐ No

a. If yes, please describe:

I tried discussing some problems that I was having with instructors, however, the office is more for putting people through the system than rectifying any problems or concerns. When there was a verbal confrontation between a teacher and myself, while they agreed it was more of a miscommunication, they said they would not be able to overrule the teacher’s actions (automatic failure of the course). If you have problems, the international office cannot and/or will not help.

1. What type of accommodation did you choose to live in?

a. ☒ Homestay ☐ Dormitory ☐ Off-campus

2. Describe the process of finding accommodation. Did you receive assistance? How much did you pay? What were important things that were included/excluded?

Other than scholarships, grants, and personal donations (please see my Tumblr blog for a list of the generous donors https://sheporbust.tumblr.com/, I did not receive any assistance. The school did provide some websites to help find accommodation, but the process is difficult and requires paperwork. In the end, I took a gamble and just paid cash to stay at a room with no questions (or deposit) asked. I lucked out, it was cheap (€450.00/mth) and nice enough for my purposes. Usually rent includes internet and all utilities, but sometimes internet is not included. Be sure to ask lots of questions.

3. What accommodation advice do you have for future exchange students planning on studying at this host institution?

Try to book with AirBnB or get a contract of some sort to help guarantee your deposit. If they are asking for more than a full month of deposit, it is probably a scam and they will not return it when you leave (citing that you broke something or caused damage). The French tend to communicate very directly (low context) so if you say something to upset them, they may have misunderstood that you did not mean it literally. Sometimes they can use this as an excuse to not return a deposit, saying that you refused to talk to them. Culturally, it is acceptable to lie about something just to get someone off your back. Don’t be offended if this happens, just keep talking to them and eventually they will fold.

1. How did you get around the city?

I walked mostly. Sometimes took the tram, and occasionally the bus.

2. Did you visit any other cities/countries during your exchange? ☐ Yes ☐ No

a. If yes, please describe where:

I visited Biarritz (South of Bordeaux on the Basque coast, near San Sebastián in Spain), Arcachon (a 30min train, 1 hour drive from Bordeaux to the West, South-West), and Lisbon, Portugal.

3. Do you have any recommendations and/or advice about travelling in the host country?

Travelling is very cheap in Europe, with many airlines providing round trips to other countries for around €100. I strongly suggest taking advantage of this and travelling to other countries, using AirBnB to find cheap accommodations.

1. Were there any health concerns in your host country that you think future students should be aware of?

If you have allergies/sensitivity/dietary restrictions to dairy, meat, and/or gluten, you may have some difficulty finding places to eat. Otherwise, nothing I can think of.

2. Did you feel safe in your host city/country? What are some safety concerns that you think future students should be aware of?

I personally felt safe. I have worked in some dangerous occupations in the past, and I didn’t think where I stayed was very dangerous. Some people had commented that I lived in the more dangerous part of Bordeaux, but I think that may just be a misconception because it was in government funded housing. Female students, however, did say that strangers would sometimes come up and try to pick them up. This never happened when I was around, probably for obvious reasons.

1. What were some cultural differences that you feel are important to know about?

There are some extreme cultural differences, ones that I did not expect to encounter and not ready for. There’s almost too many to list here, but I recommend considering Edward T. Hall, Fons Trompenaars, and Geert Hofstede to get a rough idea about French culture. Students worried about cultural differences and are wanting to know more are welcome to contact me and I can provide more information, but again, it is quite a bit.

a. Do you have recommendations on how to navigate these differences?

Patience is key, which is hard to have when so much effort needs to be put forward for something so small (not all the time, but sometimes). My best recommendation is honestly just to contact me, a lot of my difficulties were situations that needed to be pointed out by a professor, and I couldn’t make the connection until she told me it. Otherwise, Cross Culture Communication and Sociology were two key courses I took at INSEEC to help me with cultural differences, it was just a shame these were offered near the end of the semester, and one was optional.

2. How do you feel you were treated as a foreigner?

By the French population, very well. Most shop keeps and people were kind enough to not grimace as I butchered their language, and many were happy to speak English after I told them I know little French. Social and Extra-Curricular

1. What types of activities did you participate in outside of school? How did you get involved in this?

One of the students was an avid runner back in Belgium, and had started a running club while he was there. I was involved in this, as well as running on my own. The Erasmus students were always together, so if there was an event of some sort you would most likely hear about it.

1. Provide some advice to future exchange students. What did you learn? What did you wish you knew before you arrived?

I’ve learned some incredible things about Europe. Not just France, but a lot about Lithuania, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, and probably a host of other countries I’m forgetting. Unfortunately, I did not learn about international marketing as much as I had hoped, but I think this is because marketing, for the most part, if fairly the same in all countries, just with some tweaks, and I think Camosun does an excellent job as seeing international marketing as the future requirement and tailoring their classes accordingly. If you are going expecting to learn something, I doubt it will be in a classroom at INSEEC, but if you are open and ask lots of questions and listen to the other students, you will learn a plethora of knowledge about Europe. Hopefully, you will be able to use this to improve your own educational practices and future work experience.

2. Did the experience meet your expectations? Please describe.

In some ways yes, in others no. I was thinking that INSEEC would be more aligned with how Camosun operates and is structured. I was mistaken. But my goal was to learn about Europe, not about the classes offered, to which this was a resounding success. Unfortunately, INSEEC was not required to me for this, but the opportunity helped make this process easier.

If you would like to provide a testimonial about your exchange, please write 2-3 sentences here. Your testimonial may be used in publications, websites, blogs, etc.

If you are looking to learn about marketing or International marketing, INSEEC is not the school for you. If you are wanting to experience French culture, learn more about Europe, or just enjoy warm weather, this program is it. �Y��'Patience is key, which is hard to have when so much effort needs to be put forward for something so small (not all the time, but sometimes). My best recommendation is honestly just to contact me, a lot of my difficulties were situations that needed to be pointed out by a professor, and I couldn’t make the connection until she told me it. Otherwise, Cross Culture Communication and Sociology were two key courses I took at INSEEC to help me with cultural differences, it was just a shame these were offered near the end of the semester, and one was optional.

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kacydeneen · 5 years

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A Trans Woman's Harrowing Journey Through the Asylum Process

Jimena says she wore handcuffs almost everywhere she went at Winn Correctional Center: To visit the doctor, on the way to meet her attorney and even on phone calls.

But sometimes, the cuffs came off, and she says she instead spent virtually all day locked behind a maximum security door at the Louisiana prison. Like in a movie, where a guard has to press a button to let prisoners out.

All of this occurred in the aftermath of a medical emergency, when Jimena says she was attacked by one of the facility's health care professionals while trying to comfort another detainee who had purposely cut herself.

“For helping, they punished me,” Jimena told NBC.

Jimena is a transgender asylee from Honduras and has no criminal record there or in the United States, said her attorney, Karen Hoffmann, who asked NBC to only use her client's preferred name to protect her safety.

In mid-August, Jimena encountered another trans asylum seeker at Winn who cut herself near the wrist in an attempt at self-harm, according to sources with direct knowledge of the incident. When Jimena tried to help the bleeding woman and gave her a hug, she and her attorney say a nurse at the facility struck her twice on the back, leaving marks.

“Nothing ICE does at this point is really unbelievable, but it was shocking to me,” said Hoffmann. “Especially the fact that it’s a nurse.”

As punishment afterwards, Jimena and her advocates say she spent a week isolated and alone in her cell where all she could see was the wall around her. In the rare moments when she was allowed to visit other parts of the prison, she says she was forced to wear metal handcuffs.

The only time she got to see the sun was when she was taken to the prison yard during the afternoon. In Winnfield, Louisiana, where the temperature sometimes reached triple digits in mid-August, Jimena stood outside for an hour or longer in a cage with no shade or cover.

While Jimena was in detention, she said there were times when she didn’t want to exist anymore.

“But. .. I’m here for a reason," she said in Spanish. "And the reason is because I want to remain alive."

Today, Jimena is finally settling into life in the U.S. But she and her attorney described harrowing harassment and mistreatment she endured for more than half a year just to access her right to refuge. And with around a million pending immigration court cases, plus thousands of immigrant detainees such as Jimena holed up in ICE facilities across Louisiana, advocates suggest the horrors she faced while in ICE custody are far from isolated or anecdotal.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Bryan D. Cox told NBC that “all persons in ICE custody are under arrest by a federal law enforcement agency for violations of federal law.” But Jimena didn’t break the law by asking for asylum.

Cox required a privacy waiver to answer any questions specific to Jimena, but when one was provided, he did not respond with comment. He would not say whether Jimena was forced to wear handcuffs; ICE’s national detention standards mandate that under no circumstances should staff apply restraints as a form of punishment. Asked twice for video surveillance of the alleged assault, Cox did not make the footage available. Nor would he say whether Jimena was placed in disciplinary segregation — ICE's version of solitary confinement — when she was confined to a cell, or what she had done to deserve punishment.

Cox said that “in general, a suicide attempt or alien injury would be considered an ICE Significant Incident” and documented as such, and there were no reports of a similar occurrence at Winn on Aug. 20, when the other trans asylum seeker allegedly cut herself.

But a person with knowledge of the situation, who asked to keep their identity secret for the privacy and protection of the trans woman in question, corroborated Jimena’s account that an attempt at self-harm took place at the facility last month. The source was unable to confirm an alleged attack on Jimena because of lack of information.

Endless detention, near-constant harassment When Jimena came to the U.S., she waited her turn at the U.S.-Mexico border so on Jan. 13 she could present herself at the San Ysidro port of entry in California and lawfully request asylum. She was then whisked thousands of miles away and incarcerated for more than seven months at three different facilities — despite an asylum officer determining that she had a credible fear of persecution in Honduras.

At all of the places where she was held in the U.S., she was harassed and demeaned: Called homophobic and misogynistic slurs "f----t" and "w---e," whistled at, catcalled, and told she was destined for hell, according to a document submitted by Hoffmann to an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations assistant field office director in an attempt to secure Jimena's release. When other prisoners insulted her, Jimena asked for help, but she says the official she alerted did nothing.

The last facility where Jimena was detained, Winn, sits near a town with fewer than 4,500 residents, in a remote area where cell service is spotty and the closest cities are about an hour away. Now run by LaSalle Corrections, it holds just under 1600 people at capacity and was the subject of a 2016 Mother Jones exposé on poor prison conditions.

It’s one of the facilities where people “feel like trash, ... like you don’t want to live anymore,” Jimena said.

And now, it’s filled with immigrants, including asylum seekers: In early August, ICE listed its average daily population for Winn as more than 251 people in the 2019 fiscal year.

Asked repeatedly for comment by phone and email, La Salle Corrections did not respond to NBC.

Winn is not Louisiana's only contentious immigrant holding place. The state has become something of a hotbed for ICE under the Trump administration, recently hosting the agency's largest detainee population outside of Texas, according to NBC News.

During the last few years, the New Orleans ICE field office that oversees enforcement and removal operations in Louisiana stopped releasing almost all asylum seekers through an ICE policy called parole that allows migrants who have passed the first hurdle in the asylum process to fight their cases outside of government custody. In practice, the near-blanket denials meant that migrants in Louisiana were languishing indefinitely in detention as their cases wound through the courts, until a recent preliminary injunction required the New Orleans field office to restore parole for those who qualified.

Long, drawn-out detentions pose hardships and due process concerns for all asylum seekers, but they present unique challenges for trans women, attorneys suggested. If trans asylum seekers are not at ICE’s only known permanent, transgender-specific detention unit in New Mexico, they're likely held alongside men or in segregation. When they're detained with men — as Jimena was for part of the time she was in ICE custody — they face a high risk of sexual and physical assault, said Allegra Love, an attorney and the director of Santa Fe Dreamers Project, which she said has represented hundreds of trans women in recent years.

Love and her colleagues field near-constant complaints from clients about discrimination, misgendering, abuse by guards and fear of danger at detention facilities. And if a trans woman reports feeling unsafe surrounded by men, ICE’s reaction is to isolate her, Love said — a tactic a United Nations expert on torture has said may cause "severe mental pain or suffering."

ICE does not collect comprehensive data on how many detainees are being segregated, though NBC News has tracked thousands of such occasions. Under the current administration, solitary confinement is on the rise for immigrant detainees: The Project on Government Oversight documented a 15.2% increase in solitary placements during the first 15 months of Trump's presidency, compared to the last 15 months of Barack Obama’s.

Cox did cite two studies ICE conducted that found only about 1.1% of its detained population was segregated at any given time — research done in May 2012 and March 2013, more than half a decade ago and under a previous administration.

Lynly Egyes, the Transgender Law Center's legal director, has practiced immigration law and represented trans people for more than 12 years. She said ICE uses solitary confinement as a way to control trans women, and sometimes the person doesn’t even know why they’ve been placed there.

There’s no reason to detain any asylum seeker, said Love, but it's especially bad for trans women because they're so unsafe.

“It’s an optional hell,” Love said. “They can just let them all go.”

Where can they go? Like countless others who are held by ICE but have family and friends who are willing to take them in, Jimena has a place to call home in the U.S. Her sponsors, David Andres Martinez and Alex Pedro Rosalez, waited for months to meet her in-person.

After connecting with Jimena through a friend who volunteered at the border, Martinez and Rosalez spent 15 minutes nearly every day on the phone with her. As members of the LGBTQ+ community themselves, they identified with her story.

“The only difference between Jimena and us is where we were born,” Martinez said.

As sponsors for Jimena, Martinez and Rosalez compiled a long list of documents to prove they would support her. Their U.S. passports and driver’s licenses. A utility bill. Tax returns, earnings statements, a bank statement. The person in charge of this country had to submit less than they did just to look after one of his detainees, Martinez said.

And yet, even after all that, Jimena remained in ICE custody, allegedly because the agency was not convinced she was not a flight risk. The days and weeks trickled past, but Jimena still gave her sponsors scant details about what she was going through: “She always says, ‘oh, I don’t want to worry you,’” Martinez said.

Then, when she was allegedly struck by a nurse and isolated — after being detained for more than seven months — she told them more.

She said she was in handcuffs. She said she was not a criminal. She asked why she was being treated like this.

“Jimena presented herself, did not come into this country in the dead of night. She followed all the rules,” said Martinez. “And it just seems like a broken system that awful people are just trying to make it harder for the people who want to do things right.”

Death and asylum Statistically, it has become more difficult to eventually be granted asylum here. Based on data from fiscal year 2018, the Executive Office for Immigration Review reported that asylum denials increased 193% in recent years. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, they jumped to 65% last fiscal year.

But for trans women, asylum claims are easier to articulate: It’s widely understood that members of the LGBTQ+ community are often persecuted. Love said the vast majority of trans women are granted asylum, partly because “they have incredibly strong asylum cases.”

Despite the likelihood that transgender asylum seekers will be given the opportunity to stay in the U.S., and despite the unique hardships they face when they’re detained, trans women such as Jimena are sometimes being held throughout the asylum process — with life-threatening consequences. Already, two trans women have died in just over a year: Johana Medina Leon died last summer, days after being released by ICE and taken to a hospital, and Roxsana Hernandez died in ICE custody in 2018.

Others who are detained face potentially lethal mental health setbacks.

“A large percentage of our clients express suicidal ideation, and some of them have attempted it," Love said. "It’s really scary.”

In the end, Jimena got out. Judge Brock E. Taylor — a newly appointed immigration judge — presided over her asylum case in late-August. She won.

Taylor delivered his decision orally, but according to notes provided by Hoffmann — Jimena’s attorney — he found Jimena to be “fully credible.” He detailed violence she faced in Honduras and told her she was lucky to be alive after an attack she had survived.

Because Jimena waited to enter the U.S. at a legal port of entry, she proved she was committed to the rule of law, Taylor said, according to the notes. She deserves this opportunity, he added, and will make a positive contribution to society.

Jimena was granted asylum based on her gender identity and political opinion. On Aug. 30, she was finally released from Winn and joined Martinez and Rosalez in California.

But before that, another woman in Virginia caught wind of Jimena’s struggles. Amanda, who asked to use only her first name because of an unrelated safety matter, did not know the asylum seeker from Honduras. But a tweet about Jimena’s case caught her attention.

In July, Amanda set the goal to paint a new piece of art that represents a quote from a detained migrant every day. And on Aug. 22, Day 35 of the exercise, she took on Jimena’s story.

Amanda wanted to create a reality where Jimena ended up in a place that let her protect herself and those she loved. She wanted to represent the asylum seeker with something that was fierce and female, that no one would dare strike. Not even a nurse at Winn Correctional Center.

On watercolor paper, a tigress stares upward. It’s hard to tell where she’s looking, and whether she’s hopeful, or afraid, or something in-between. But there’s both majesty and determination in her amber eyes. Like maybe — just maybe — she’s finally going to be free.

Photo Credit: Sam Hart/NBC This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. A Trans Woman's Harrowing Journey Through the Asylum Process published first on Miami News

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years

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Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/daphne-koller-what-were-learning-from-online-education-3/

Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha Like many of you, i’m one of the most lucky individuals. I was once born to a family the place education was once pervasive. I’m a third-iteration PhD, a daughter of two lecturers. In my childhood, I played around in my father’s tuition lab. So it was taken for granted that I attend one of the most first-rate universities, which in flip opened the door to a world of opportunity.Lamentably, most of the people on this planet should not so lucky. In some parts of the arena, for instance, South Africa, education is not effectively available. In South Africa, the educational system used to be built within the days of apartheid for the white minority. And as a consequence, at present there’s simply no longer sufficient spots for the many extra individuals who need and deserve a excessive high-quality schooling. That shortage ended in a main issue in January of this yr at the tuition of Johannesburg. There have been a handful of positions left open from the common admissions system, and the night time before they have been speculated to open that for registration, 1000s of people lined up outside the gate in a line a mile lengthy, hoping to be first in line to get a type of positions.When the gates opened, there was once a stampede, and 20 individuals were injured and one lady died. She used to be a mother who gave her existence seeking to get her son a chance at a better life. But even in components of the arena like the us the place education is available, it would now not be inside reach. There was so much mentioned within the final few years in regards to the rising rate of health care. What could no longer be rather as apparent to individuals is that throughout that equal period the cost of higher schooling training has been growing at close to twice the fee, for a total of 559 percent due to the fact that 1985. This makes schooling unaffordable for many persons. Sooner or later, even for many who do manage to get the bigger education, the doors of opportunity could now not open.Best a little bit over 1/2 of contemporary institution graduates in the united states who get a greater education in reality are working in jobs that require that education. This, of course, will not be actual for the students who graduate from the highest institutions, but for many others, they don’t get the value for their time and their effort. Tom Friedman, in his recent the big apple instances article, captured, in the way in which that no one else could, the spirit at the back of our effort. He mentioned the tremendous breakthroughs are what happen when what is out of the blue possible meets what’s desperately critical. I’ve pointed out what’s desperately integral. Let’s speak about what’s all of a sudden feasible. What’s abruptly feasible was tested by using three significant Stanford lessons, each and every of which had an enrollment of 100,000 individuals or more. In an effort to understand this, let’s look at one of those courses, the computing device learning category offered with the aid of my colleague and cofounder Andrew Ng. Andrew teaches some of the larger Stanford courses.It can be a computing device studying class, and it has four hundred folks enrolled at any time when it can be offered. When Andrew taught the computer learning type to most people, it had one hundred,000 persons registered. So that you can put that quantity in standpoint, for Andrew to arrive that equal measurement viewers by way of teaching a Stanford type, he would have to do this for 250 years. Of direction, he’d get particularly bored. So, having noticeable the have an effect on of this, Andrew and that i decided that we would have liked to rather try and scale this up, to carry the first-rate satisfactory schooling to as many folks as we could.So we fashioned Coursera, whose purpose is to take the high-quality guides from the excellent instructors on the nice universities and furnish it to everybody world wide totally free. We presently have 43 publications on the platform from four universities across a range of disciplines, and let me exhibit you just a little bit of an summary of what that looks like. (Video) Robert Ghrist: Welcome to Calculus. Ezekiel Emanuel: Fifty million people are uninsured. Scott page: units aid us design more effective associations and insurance policies. We get implausible segregation. Scott Klemmer: So Bush imagined that in the future, you’ll put on a camera right in the middle of your head.Mitchell Duneier: Mills desires the pupil of sociology to boost the pleasant of mind … RG: hanging cable takes on the type of a hyperbolic cosine. Nick Parlante: For each and every pixel within the photo, set the red to zero. Paul Offit: … Vaccine allowed us to eliminate polio virus. Dan Jurafsky: Does Lufthansa serve breakfast and San Jose? Well, that sounds humorous. Daphne Koller: So that is which coin you choose, and that is the two tosses. Andrew Ng: So in large-scale laptop learning, we might prefer to come up with computational … (Applause) DK: It turns out, probably no longer highly, that students like getting the satisfactory content material from the great universities at no cost. Due to the fact we opened the internet site in February, we have now 640,000 scholars from 190 international locations. We’ve got 1.5 million enrollments, 6 million quizzes within the 15 classes that have launched to this point had been submitted, and 14 million videos were considered. However it’s now not virtually the numbers, it’s also in regards to the humans. Whether or not it is Akash, who comes from a small city in India and would under no circumstances have access on this case to a Stanford-nice path and would never be able to come up with the money for it. Or Jenny, who’s a single mom of two and desires to hone her abilities so that she will be able to go back and complete her master’s degree.Or Ryan, who can’t go to college, for the reason that his immune deficient daughter can not be risked to have germs come into the condo, so he couldn’t depart the condo. I am really glad to assert — not too long ago, we’ve got been in correspondence with Ryan — that this story had a completely satisfied ending. Baby Shannon — one can find her on the left — is doing significantly better now, and Ryan obtained a job by using taking a few of our courses. So what made these publications so specific? In any case, on-line path content material has been available for a at the same time. What made it exclusive was once that this was once real course experience. It started on a given day, after which the scholars would watch videos on a weekly basis and do homework assignments. And these can be real homework assignments for a real grade, with a real cut-off date. You can find the closing dates and the utilization graph.These are the spikes displaying that procrastination is world phenomenon. (Laughter) at the finish of the course, the scholars received a certificate. They could gift that certificates to a prospective employer and get a greater job, and we know many students who did. Some students took their certificates and offered this to an educational university at which they had been enrolled for exact school credit. So these pupils were quite getting some thing meaningful for his or her funding of effort and time. Let’s talk a bit of bit about some of the accessories that go into these publications. The first aspect is that while you move faraway from the constraints of a bodily lecture room and design content explicitly for a web based structure, you could become independent from from, for example, the monolithic one-hour lecture.Which you can damage up the fabric, for illustration, into these brief, modular items of eight to 12 minutes, each and every of which represents a coherent notion. Scholars can traverse this material in distinctive methods, relying on their background, their expertise or their interests. So, for illustration, some students could benefit from a bit little bit of preparatory fabric that other pupils might already have. Other students possibly fascinated by a particular enrichment matter that they want to pursue for my part. So this layout allows us to become independent from from the one-measurement-suits-all model of schooling, and makes it possible for students to comply with a way more personalized curriculum. Of direction, we all know as educators that scholars do not gain knowledge of by means of sitting and passively watching movies. Probably one of the greatest accessories of this effort is that we need to have pupils who observe with the fabric in order to relatively have an understanding of it. There is been a variety of experiences that reveal the value of this.This person who appeared in Science last year, for example, demonstrates that even simple retrieval apply, where pupils are just speculated to repeat what they already learned offers appreciably accelerated outcome on quite a lot of success assessments down the line than many other academic interventions. We have tried to build in retrieval follow into the platform, as good as other types of follow in many methods. For illustration, even our movies should not simply movies. Every few minutes, the video pauses and the scholars get requested a question. (Video) SP: … These 4 matters. Prospect concept, hyperbolic discounting, reputation quo bias, base rate bias. They’re all good documented. So they may be all good documented deviations from rational behavior. DK: So right here the video pauses, and the pupil types in the answer into the box and submits. Obviously they weren’t paying attention. (Laughter) so that they get to check out again, and this time they acquired it correct. There may be an optional clarification if they want. And now the video strikes on to the following part of the lecture.This is a variety of easy question that I as an instructor could ask in school, however when I ask that form of a query in school, 80 percent of the students are nonetheless scribbling the final thing I said, 15 percentage are zoned out on fb, and then there is the smarty pants in the front row who blurts out the reply before any person else has had a chance to suppose about it, and that i as the teacher am terribly gratified that somebody in reality knew the answer. And so the lecture strikes on earlier than, fairly, most of the students have even observed that a question had been asked. Right here, each single pupil has to interact with the material. And of course these easy retrieval questions are usually not the end of the story. One desires to build in far more meaningful observe questions, and one also needs to provide the students with feedback on those questions.Now, how do you grade the work of 100,000 pupils in case you don’t have 10,000 TAs? The answer is, you must use technological know-how to do it for you. Now, happily, science has come a ways, and we are able to now grade a variety of intriguing forms of homework. Furthermore to a couple of option and the varieties of quick reply questions that you simply noticed in the video, we will additionally grade math, mathematical expressions as good as mathematical derivations. We can grade units, whether or not it is monetary items in a business category or physical units in a science or engineering type and we are able to grade some pretty subtle programming assignments.Let me exhibit you one that’s surely pretty simple however rather visual. This is from Stanford’s computer Science one zero one classification, and the scholars are supposed to color-correct that blurry pink snapshot. They may be typing their software into the browser, and you will see that they did not get it really right, woman Liberty continues to be seasick. And so, the student tries once more, and now they received it proper, they usually’re told that, and they may be able to move on to the next undertaking. This capability to have interaction actively with the fabric and be instructed when you are correct or improper is particularly fundamental to student learning. Now, of direction we can not yet grade the variety of work that one wants for all publications. In particular, what’s lacking is the kind of valuable pondering work that’s so most important in such disciplines as the humanities, the social sciences, business and others.So we tried to persuade, for instance, some of our humanities school that more than one alternative used to be now not any such dangerous procedure. That did not go over really good. So we needed to provide you with one more resolution. And the solution we ended up making use of is peer grading. It turns out that previous experiences exhibit, like this one by means of Saddler and good, that peer grading is a surprisingly powerful technique for providing reproducible grades.It was tried only in small courses, however there it showed, for illustration, that these pupil-assigned grades on the y-axis are really very good correlated with the teacher-assigned grade on the x-axis. What’s much more stunning is that self-grades, the place the scholars grade their possess work severely — so long as you incentivize them correctly so that they are not able to supply themselves a excellent ranking — are virtually even higher correlated with the instructor grades. And so this is an effective approach that can be used for grading at scale, and can also be a valuable studying procedure for the scholars, since they virtually study from the experience. So we have now the most important peer-grading pipeline ever devised, the place tens of hundreds of thousands of pupils are grading every other’s work, and really efficiently, I ought to say.But this is not nearly scholars sitting on my own of their residing room working by way of problems. Round each and every one among our courses, a community of scholars had formed, a global neighborhood of people around a shared mental endeavor. What you see here’s a self-generated map from scholars in our Princeton Sociology 101 direction, the place they have got put themselves on a world map, and that you can fairly see the global reach of this style of effort. Pupils collaborated in these publications in a style of unique methods. Initially, there was once a query and reply forum, the place students would pose questions, and different scholars would answer these questions. And the quite powerful thing is, considering that there have been so many pupils, it means that even if a scholar posed a query at three o’clock in the morning, someplace around the world, there would be somebody who was once unsleeping and working on the same quandary. And so, in many of our publications, the median response time for a question on the query and reply discussion board used to be 22 minutes.Which isn’t a stage of provider i’ve ever furnished to my Stanford students. (Laughter) And you will see from the scholar testimonials that scholars sincerely find that due to the fact that of this giant online neighborhood, they received to interact with each and every different in many approaches that were deeper than they did within the context of the bodily classroom. Pupils also self-assembled, without any kind of intervention from us, into small be trained agencies. Some of these had been bodily be trained groups along geographical constraints and met on a weekly foundation to work by way of quandary units. This is the San Francisco study team, however there were ones all over the arena. Others were virtual gain knowledge of agencies, generally along language traces or alongside cultural traces, and on the bottom left there, you see our multicultural common learn crew the place people explicitly desired to attach with humans from other cultures. There are some tremendous possibilities available from this style of framework.The first is that it has the abilities of giving us a completely unprecedented look into working out human learning. Given that the data that we are able to acquire right here is distinctive. You can acquire each click, every homework submission, every forum submit from tens of thousands of pupils. So that you may flip the study of human studying from the speculation-pushed mode to the information-driven mode, a transformation that, for illustration, has revolutionized biology. You should use these knowledge to fully grasp foremost questions like, what are excellent studying techniques which might be strong versus ones that aren’t? And within the context of specific courses, that you could ask questions like, what are some of the misconceptions which are extra usual and the way can we aid scholars fix them? So here’s an illustration of that, also from Andrew’s computer finding out type. This is a distribution of fallacious solutions to one among Andrew’s assignments. The answers happen to be pairs of numbers, so that you would be able to draw them on this two-dimensional plot.Each of the little crosses that you simply see is yet another wrong answer. The big pass at the prime left is where 2,000 pupils gave the distinctive equal flawed reply. Now, if two scholars in a class of 100 supply the equal wrong answer, you possibly can under no circumstances discover. But when 2,000 pupils supply the identical unsuitable answer, it is sort of difficult to miss. So Andrew and his pupils went in, checked out some of these assignments, understood the root purpose of the misconception, and then they produced a precise error message that will be furnished to each scholar whose reply fell into that bucket, which means that that scholars who made that same mistake would now get customized suggestions telling them find out how to fix their misconception much more easily. So this personalization is some thing that you’ll be able to then construct by using having the advantage of massive numbers. Personalization is maybe one of the most biggest opportunities right here as well, in view that it provides us with the potential of solving a 30-12 months-historical problem. Academic researcher Benjamin Bloom, in 1984, posed what’s called the two sigma quandary, which he observed with the aid of learning three populations. The first is the populace that studied in a lecture-founded study room. The 2d is a population of pupils that studied making use of a typical lecture-headquartered school room, but with a mastery-based technique, so the scholars could not move on to the next subject before demonstrating mastery of the earlier one.And subsequently, there was a populace of scholars that were taught in a one-on-one instruction making use of a tutor. The mastery-centered population used to be a full standard deviation, or sigma, in achievement rankings higher than the typical lecture-established category, and the character tutoring offers you 2 sigma development in efficiency. To understand what that suggests, let’s appear on the lecture-headquartered study room, and let’s pick the median efficiency as a threshold. So in a lecture-established category, half of the scholars are above that stage and half are beneath. In the person tutoring instruction, ninety eight percent of the students are going to be above that threshold. Think if we might educate so that 98 percent of our students could be above normal. Therefore, the two sigma trouble. In view that we can not afford, as a society, to provide every student with an individual human tutor. But probably we can manage to pay for to furnish each and every student with a laptop or a smartphone. So the question is, how will we use science to push from the left aspect of the graph, from the blue curve, to the proper side with the green curve? Mastery is convenient to achieve utilizing a pc, due to the fact a pc does not get tired of displaying you the identical video 5 instances.And it does not even get worn out of grading the equal work a couple of instances, now we have obvious that in many of the examples that I’ve shown you. And even personalization is anything that we’re opening to peer the beginnings of, whether or not it’s via the customised trajectory via the curriculum or one of the most personalised suggestions that we’ve proven you. So the purpose right here is to take a look at and push, and spot how far we are able to get towards the green curve. So, if this is the case pleasant, are universities now obsolete? Good, Mark Twain absolutely idea so. He mentioned that, "college is a location where a professor’s lecture notes go straight to the pupils’ lecture notes, with out passing via the brains of both." (Laughter) i beg to differ with Mark Twain, though. I feel what he was complaining about just isn’t universities but alternatively the lecture-established format that so many universities spend a lot time on. So let’s return even additional, to Plutarch, who said that, "The intellect isn’t a vessel that needs filling, but timber that desires igniting." And perhaps we will have to spend much less time at universities filling our students’ minds with content material by lecturing at them, and more time igniting their creativity, their creativeness and their challenge-fixing capabilities by means of actually speakme with them.So how do we try this? We do that via doing energetic finding out in the classroom. So there is been many reviews, together with this one, that show that for those who use energetic studying, interacting with your pupils in the school room, efficiency improves on each single metric — on attendance, on engagement and on finding out as measured with the aid of a standardized test. You’ll discover, for example, that the fulfillment score virtually doubles in this specific test. So maybe this is how we must spend our time at universities. In an effort to summarize, if we might offer a top high-quality schooling to all people around the globe for free, what would that do? Three things. First it might establish schooling as a important human right, where any person all over the world with the capacity and the inducement might get the expertise that they have got to make a greater lifestyles for themselves, their households and their communities.2nd, it might permit lifelong finding out. It can be a shame that for so many folks, finding out stops after we finish high college or when we conclude university. By means of having this strong content be available, we’d be equipped to learn anything new each time we wanted, whether it’s simply to broaden our minds or it is to vary our lives. And subsequently, this is able to allow a wave of innovation, when you consider that robust skill may also be observed anywhere. Perhaps the following Albert Einstein or the next Steve Jobs is residing someplace in a far flung village in Africa. And if we might offer that man or woman an schooling, they would be in a position to provide you with the subsequent big proposal and make the world a greater place for every person.Thanks very so much. (Applause) .

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airoasis · 5 years

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Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/daphne-koller-what-were-learning-from-online-education-3/

Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education

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maxwellmmeyers · 5 years

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Three Biggest Mistakes Redditors Make When Writing Their Resume

The following post is by ESI from ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing (ESI). It’s written by an early 50’s retiree who achieved financial independence, shares what’s worked for him, and details how others can implement those successes in their lives. He is also the author of a free ebook titled Three Steps to Financial Independence and spends a lot of his time interviewing millionaires.

Several months ago, a friend recommended I give Reddit a try. He said there was lots going on at the site and I would enjoy it.

"Enjoy" was not the first word I thought of when he mentioned it. I think I was more in the "fear" camp initially.

But I eventually overcame my concerns, joined Reddit, and spent a couple of months trying to get into the flow of how things worked and finding subreddits I was interested in.

Once I felt more settled, I wanted to give back to the community, so I started looking at places to contribute.

Naturally, I gravitated toward the personal finance topics. After all, I have had a decent amount of money success myself (financially independent at 42, retired at 52, and had written on the subject for 15+years.)

But it didn't take long to find out that everyone on Reddit is a money management expert, who will be retiring early. (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in that.)

Anyway, I had little interest in explaining money problems to a 32-year-old "expert" with almost no net worth to his name. I had seen others try and the pack descend on him, so no thank you.

I kept searching.

I found a subreddit where people posted their resumes and asked for help reviewing them. As someone who had reviewed thousands of resumes during my working career, interviewed and hired hundreds of people, and managed my own career with success, I knew I could help.

So I dived in...

The Average Questioner

After reading several posts, I could see a pattern -- a very strong pattern.

The posts were eerily similar to each other. I know that rarely happens but again and again the same post popped up.

Here's a representative sample of what the vast majority were like:

Hey, guys!

I have been looking for a job for a year now and am having no luck at all.

I have applied for about 900 positions and haven't received one call back, so I'm sure the problem is with my resume.

Can you look it over and offer suggestions how I can improve it?

The resume was attached for us all to comment on.

Resume Mess

To say the resumes were a mess is an understatement.

I'm not sure where these people got their initial advice on how to create a resume, but I assume it was either a first grade elementary class or a trained monkey.

Anyway, it was apparent why the resume wasn't getting any results.

Even more, I saw a second pattern developing. Again and again, each poster had the same exact issues. They were making critical mistakes -- ones that made their resumes almost worthless.

I was seeing this so often that it got to the point where I was making the same exact recommendations to poster after poster. Eventually, I made responding easier on myself by writing out a detailed response, saving it as a document on my computer, and literally copying and pasting it to one question after another. They all needed the same advice!

So in the interest of saving future posters the trouble of asking for help, I thought I'd share the three common issues reddit posters faced and my recommendations on how to address them.

I'll list them as recommendations of what to do instead of what to avoid as I think it's more positive.

So with that said, here are my three tips for making your resume as strong as possible:

1. Follow a standard format full of easy-to-read bullet points.

Consider this finding detailed on Time:

According to a study released this week by TheLadders, an online job-matching service, recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing an individual resume. The standard thought was that recruiters spent at least several minutes on each CV. Nope.

Six seconds! Yikes!

The reality is that recruiters have a TON of resumes to sort through so they need to weed them out quickly. That's why each one gets six seconds.

This means that a resume writer needs to capture their attention and stand out (in a good way) in six seconds. If this happens, perhaps the review can be extended to 10 or 15 seconds, which allows the candidate enough time to tell his story a bit and hopefully make the "maybe" pile instead of being consigned to the trash bin.

What exactly do I mean here? I suggest the following:

Do not get creative. You need to follow the standard format of 1) contact info at the top, 2) work experience in reverse chronological order next, and 3) education at the end. Recruiters are used to this format and using it ensures they spend their time looking at your background and not figuring out where the info is. If you get creative and develop a non-standard format resume, they spend their six seconds trying to figure out what the heck is going on and you lose your chance to impress them.

Use bullet points to detail your experience. As you discuss your work experience, highlight your accomplishments (more on this below) in bullet points. These are easy to read quickly and can convey a ton of information in a short period of time. In six seconds, several bullet points can easily communicate "this is someone I need to talk to."

Forget the list of skills at the top. I don't need you to tell me you're "creative, determined, and results-oriented." I'll make that determination for myself. Tell me what you've done and from there I'll form my own conclusions.

There are exceptions to these of course. If you're applying for a creative position, then throw out the rules and be creative with your resume (as long as you still communicate well, of course). If you have some skill that's required for the job (or gives you a leg up), then you may want to include it at the top. But for 95%+ of the jobs out there, these tips hold true.

The resumes I was seeing on reddit were all sorts of messy. People were detailing their job experience in paragraphs so difficult to read I'm sure no one plowed through them. They listed their experience at the end of the resume and in no particular order. They were spending the first half of the page telling us what they thought of themselves (and their abilities) versus getting to the meat of the presentation. These resumes were train wrecks and it was easy to see why they had not been effective.

2. List quantifiable accomplishments beginning with action verbs.

Consider two candidates. The first one lists the following in detailing his most recent job:

I helped the sales team in their work.

The second lists this:

Supported nine-person team to deliver 10.4% sales growth over previous year and earn company-wide recognition award for performance.

Now, which of those two people would you want to interview? (By the way, the purpose of a resume is simply to get you an interview.)

See how the second is so much better than the first? If you don't let me name a few ways:

The second seems like it's written impartially (though it's not, of course.) By not using "I" it makes the accomplishment less from you and more objective.

There's action in the second one. The candidate "supported" the team. What did the first person do? Probably whatever they told him. The second person took action (and appears to be more of a go-getter). By the way, "supported" isn't the greatest action word in the world. I'd prefer "led" or "directed" but most entry-level people aren't at the stage where they direct or lead much, so you have to use the best word you can.

The second has QUANTIFIABLE results. They are not vague -- you know he was part of a team that had a 10.4% sales increase. That's both specific and impressive.

The second sneaks in a second point detailing why he's awesome. Not only did he work to deliver great sales, but an outside source ("the company") recognized the efforts as outstanding. This guy is a winner!!!

The sad thing is that these two different lines could actually be the same person! It's just that if he has no clue how to write a resume it might be more like option 1 but if he had a bit of direction he'd write it as option 2.

Questions I get about this tip often come down to "I don't have any accomplishments" and "I'm not sure how to quantify what I've done."

If you literally have zero accomplishments, you need to try and make the bullets sound as impressive as you can. That said, if you have honestly contributed nothing meaningful to your current employer, why should a new one want to hire you?

If you have accomplishments but aren't sure they can be quantified, that's better than nothing. But think hard and use numbers if at all possible as long as they are impressive (delivering a sales increase of 0.1% is not worth mentioning -- unless of course the rest of the company was down 20% and then you'd want to list it as "Delivered 20% sales increase versus rest of company.")

3. Focus on networking if you really want to find a job.

Submitting a resume online makes the applicant feel like he's doing something, but the chances of being hired this way are remote. In fact, Forbes says, "This method works just 4% of the time, on average."

I have advertised jobs online several times and we'd always get a few hundred applicants for one position. I probably spent less than six seconds on each resume just to get it down to 10 or so I felt were qualified. I'm sure I missed many great candidates this way but the sheer numbers dictated my actions. Many companies face the same thing, that's why the odds of being hired from an online source are not great.

Instead, do a little networking. You know, actually talk to human beings -- people you know, people friends and family know, people past co-workers know, people your college professors know, and on and on. Talk to people, tell them what you're looking for, and ask if they can help or know anyone who can.

By the way, you're going to need to be a good networker to advance your career anyway (networking is one on my seven steps to make millions more in your career), so you might as well get good at it now.

Networking takes a lot more effort (which is why people probably avoid it) but is MUCH more successful. Forbes says this method "works 33% of the time." The only thing that works better (at 47%) is "knocking on the door of any employer" which is simply a cold-call version of networking.

If you're looking for another source on the dynamics above, consider the facts presented here:

80 percent of jobs are not posted online.

Only about five applicants actually earn an interview from hundreds of applications.

Referrals account for around a third of all external hires.

Networking allows you to break out of the pack, find a personal connection, and get selected as one of the few who get an interview. Using it you have between a 33% and 47% chance of success -- versus a 4% chance simply posting online. Is it any wonder these reddit posters were having issues?

It's Not Just Reddit Users

My experience here was with reddit users, but it's not unique to them.

Almost everywhere I get asked about reviewing a resume (from a friend in person, someone emailing me one, online on other sites, etc.) I see the exact same mis-steps. These there are very common. And unfortunately, if you get them wrong, you are significantly hurting your chances for success.

That said, now that you know how critical these are, implement them in your next resume. If you do, you'll stand out from the pack and your odds of success will grow dramatically.

This article originally appeared on The Money Mix and has been republished with permission.

from Money 101 https://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2019/05/three-biggest-mistakes-redditors-make-when-writing-their-resume.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

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cladeymoore · 5 years

Text

Three Biggest Mistakes Redditors Make When Writing Their Resume

Several months ago, a friend recommended I give Reddit a try. He said there was lots going on at the site and I would enjoy it.

"Enjoy" was not the first word I thought of when he mentioned it. I think I was more in the "fear" camp initially.

But I eventually overcame my concerns, joined Reddit, and spent a couple of months trying to get into the flow of how things worked and finding subreddits I was interested in.

Once I felt more settled, I wanted to give back to the community, so I started looking at places to contribute.

But it didn't take long to find out that everyone on Reddit is a money management expert, who will be retiring early. (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in that.)

Anyway, I had little interest in explaining money problems to a 32-year-old "expert" with almost no net worth to his name. I had seen others try and the pack descend on him, so no thank you.

I kept searching.

So I dived in...

The Average Questioner

After reading several posts, I could see a pattern -- a very strong pattern.

The posts were eerily similar to each other. I know that rarely happens but again and again the same post popped up.

Here's a representative sample of what the vast majority were like:

Hey, guys!

I have been looking for a job for a year now and am having no luck at all.

I have applied for about 900 positions and haven't received one call back, so I'm sure the problem is with my resume.

Can you look it over and offer suggestions how I can improve it?

The resume was attached for us all to comment on.

Resume Mess

To say the resumes were a mess is an understatement.

I'm not sure where these people got their initial advice on how to create a resume, but I assume it was either a first grade elementary class or a trained monkey.

Anyway, it was apparent why the resume wasn't getting any results.

Even more, I saw a second pattern developing. Again and again, each poster had the same exact issues. They were making critical mistakes -- ones that made their resumes almost worthless.

So in the interest of saving future posters the trouble of asking for help, I thought I'd share the three common issues reddit posters faced and my recommendations on how to address them.

I'll list them as recommendations of what to do instead of what to avoid as I think it's more positive.

So with that said, here are my three tips for making your resume as strong as possible:

1. Follow a standard format full of easy-to-read bullet points.

Consider this finding detailed on Time:

Six seconds! Yikes!

The reality is that recruiters have a TON of resumes to sort through so they need to weed them out quickly. That's why each one gets six seconds.

What exactly do I mean here? I suggest the following:

2. List quantifiable accomplishments beginning with action verbs.

Consider two candidates. The first one lists the following in detailing his most recent job:

I helped the sales team in their work.

The second lists this:

Supported nine-person team to deliver 10.4% sales growth over previous year and earn company-wide recognition award for performance.

Now, which of those two people would you want to interview? (By the way, the purpose of a resume is simply to get you an interview.)

See how the second is so much better than the first? If you don't let me name a few ways:

The second seems like it's written impartially (though it's not, of course.) By not using "I" it makes the accomplishment less from you and more objective.

The second has QUANTIFIABLE results. They are not vague -- you know he was part of a team that had a 10.4% sales increase. That's both specific and impressive.

Questions I get about this tip often come down to "I don't have any accomplishments" and "I'm not sure how to quantify what I've done."

3. Focus on networking if you really want to find a job.

If you're looking for another source on the dynamics above, consider the facts presented here:

80 percent of jobs are not posted online.

Only about five applicants actually earn an interview from hundreds of applications.

Referrals account for around a third of all external hires.

It's Not Just Reddit Users

My experience here was with reddit users, but it's not unique to them.

That said, now that you know how critical these are, implement them in your next resume. If you do, you'll stand out from the pack and your odds of success will grow dramatically.

This article originally appeared on The Money Mix and has been republished with permission.

from Money 101 https://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2019/05/three-biggest-mistakes-redditors-make-when-writing-their-resume.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

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newstfionline · 7 years

Text

License to Speak

By Garrett Epps, The Atlantic, May 5, 2017

Nearly 20 years ago, a man in Oregon found himself threatened with 98 years in prison for testifying against a proposed gravel mine.

It took a team of pro bono lawyers--including me--to convince a state board that this frontal attack on free speech violated the U.S. and Oregon constitutions.

Bureaucracies are slow to internalize bad news, however. Today, an Oregon man named Mats Jarlstrom is fighting the same free speech battle in the same state--represented by lawyers and the libertarian Institute for Justice. His fight implicates free speech in all 50 states--wherever state and local governments regulate and license professional services. In both cases, state bodies attempted to use their licensing authority to silence critics with the professional backgrounds to substantiate their objections.

Jarlstrom is in trouble with a state board called the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying. His “offense” was to use mathematical calculations to suggest to his local government that there might be a better way to time yellow lights at intersections. He was fined for “the unlicensed practice of engineering.”

It’s eerily familiar. In 2000, our client, Mark Reed, was a professor of geology at the University of Oregon. A local sand and gravel company asked county authorities for permission to excavate for a mine on a site within a mile of his home.

Reed examined public documents and testified at a public hearing of the County Commission. He stated, and wrote, that in his opinion there were errors in the engineering studies accompanying the application, and asked that the commission turn down the company’s application.

The company complained to the Oregon Board of Geologist Examiners, which dutifully wrote to Reed that it had received an allegation of 49 counts of “the unlicensed public practice of geology”; each count carried a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $1,000 fine. The Board generously agreed to waive the fines if Reed would sign an agreement to keep his mouth shut from now on.

Let’s count the number of reasons this was a world-class government overreach. Reed’s “unlicensed practice” consisted of (1) reading documents available to the public and (2) giving his negative opinion of the project to his local government while (3) noting truthfully that he was using his highly relevant geology training to understand them.

There was no allegation that he was not a geologist by training, that he had charged anyone a dollar for his services, or that he had said anything false. His “offense” was talking about geology without getting a license from the board.

No one disputes that a state can guard against fraud and professional malpractice by requiring education and training, licensing exams, and registration from those who wish to practice specialized professions for pay. But truthful, non-misleading speech on a matter of public interest by a citizen to his or her elected representatives is at the absolute core of what is called “core political speech.” Government “licensing” of speakers in these circumstances is a grotesque violation of the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court addressed this very question in a 1945 case called Thomas v. Collins. A Texas statute requiring “labor union organizers” to register with the state before “soliciting members.” A local sheriff jailed the International President of the United Automobile Workers Union for speaking to a union rally in Houston. His conviction violated both the Speech and Assembly Clauses, the Court said:

As a matter of principle a requirement of registration in order to make a public speech would seem generally incompatible with an exercise of the rights of free speech and free assembly. Lawful public assemblies, involving no element of grave and immediate danger to an interest the state is entitled to protect, are not instruments of harm which require previous identification of the speakers.

We went to court, and the board agreed to drop the complaint against Reed, change the regulations under which it had proceeded against him, and ask the legislature to change the geology licensing statute.

Flash forward to 2013, when a woman named Laurie Jarlstrom got a ticket for allegedly running a red light in Beaverton, Oregon. The ticket was issued after an automatic camera captured a picture of her car in the intersection after the yellow light had turned red. Her husband, Mats Jarlstrom, began to wonder whether the traffic lights in his home town were allowing motorists enough time to clear the intersection before yellow turned red.

Piqued by the ticket, he worked out the physics of cars passing through an intersection and concluded that the current system for timing stoplights--devised more than 50 years ago--was in error; combined with traffic cameras, the result was tickets to drivers who hadn’t really committed an offense.

Math and physics are familiar to Jarlstrom. A native of Sweden, completed a four-year engineering course at a technical secondary school and one year of advanced training there. Since coming to the US, he has worked as a technical consultant who helps design audio systems. As a matter of free speech, it really doesn’t matter whether these calculations are the best thing since Einstein’s theory of general relativity or a bald-faced claim that pi equals 3.

As it happens, Jarlstrom’s calculations seem to have been pretty good. Alexei A. Maradudin, research professor of physics at the University of California at Irvine, was one of the original authors of the intersection-crossing paradigm. In a phone interview he said, “I’m pretty well convinced he’s right.”

Jarlstrom shared his engineering background, and his calculations, with a less sympathetic audience, however--his local city government. “They were laughing at me at city council meetings,” he recalled. He also submitted his calculations to the engineering board. The board instructed him to stop performing engineering work.

The Oregon state statute forbids anyone not registered with the Board from either “impl[ying] that the person is an engineer or a registered professional”; or “[a]ppl[ying] special knowledge of the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences to such professional services or creative work [or] testimony.” Because Jarlstrom was not licensed under Oregon law, he could apparently not 1) mention his own engineering training in public; 2) perform--perhaps even in his head--mathematical work like the traffic-stop calculations or 3) discuss his results with his local government--or anyone else.

Jarlstrom had written about his work to his local sheriff, to Dr. Maradudin, and to 60 Minutes about his calculations. The board considered each of these a violation. It assessed a $500 fine.

In the words of President Trump, WRONG! Any citizen has a right to describe his or her own educational background, as long as he or she doesn’t perform or offer professional services without a license. (I’m a lawyer by training and I have the right to say so; I can’t claim bar membership if I don’t have it.) The First Amendment doesn’t have a Calculate Clause, but Jarlstrom’s math was fully protected as well. Finally, any citizen also has a right to criticize government operations, either to government itself or to the public and news media.

In fact, the Supreme Court recently held that even false public speech about a person’s background or experience can’t be punished unless it’s actually fraudulent. In 2012, the court voided the conviction of a blowhard who falsely told a public meeting that he was a veteran and a Medal of Honor winner. “Where false claims are made to effect a fraud or secure moneys or other valuable considerations,” the court said, “it is well established that the Government may restrict speech without affronting the First Amendment.” But falsity by itself cannot be punished “absent any evidence that the speech was used to gain a material advantage.” For good measure, Kennedy added, “Our constitutional tradition stands against the idea that we need Oceania’s Ministry of Truth.”

The action against Jarlstrom was not a fluke. As detailed on the Institute for Justice website, the engineering board has fined a local activist who objected at a meeting to the noise level of a proposed power plant; fined a retired licensed engineer because in public testimony he failed to say he was retired; threatened a Portland woman because a local magazine called her an engineer, though she was not quoted as making that claim; and even formally investigated two political candidates for truthfully listing their educational qualifications in election materials. (False claims by political candidates are doubly protected.)

I predict not only that Jarlstrom will win his lawsuit, but that the state’s position will be laughed out of court. I hope the court will take notice that Oregon has been on notice of the free-speech problem with its regulatory boards for more than a decade.

The Institute, a Koch-funded libertarian advocacy group, wants a First Amendment precedent it can use in other states. Institute lawyer Sam Gedge said in an email that:

Oregon’s engineering board is an extreme example of a state agency targeting speech. But it’s hardly unique. Kentucky’s psychology-licensing board took aim at a nationally syndicated advice columnist for writing about behavioral issues without a Kentucky license. North Carolina’s dietetics board took a red pen to a citizen’s diet blog. And Texas’s psychologist-licensing board threatened to punish a political candidate who referred to herself--truthfully--as a “psychologist” in her campaign materials.

I am sympathetic with states that want to regulate their professions; often they must rely on volunteers from the regulated specialties, who have little understanding of law. But Oregon state agencies have been crossing the free-speech line for more 15 years. Looking at the pattern, I have to conclude that this is not a mistake or a miscalculation; it is calculated lawlessness.

#Oregon #free speech #state boards #Oregon state agencies #Laurie Jarlstrom

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taafka-invisible · 8 years

Photo

DIARY OF A TEENAGED LATINA SINCE THE 2016 ELECTION

Before we get to it. Let me tell you something: TRUMP LOVES HATE TRUMP SUPPORTERS LOVE HATE TOO. WHITE SUPREMACY DOESN'T REQUIRE HATE TO FUNCTION. BUT HATE FUNCTIONED WELL INSIDE THE MAJORITY OF WHITE VOTERS DURING THE LAST ELECTION.

There's no way to look past, or ignore, or decide something else is more important than the people who can ignore the plight of their neighbors and chant "Build That Wall." That's hate. Being able to be affiliated with a group that encourages that means you're hate-filled yourself or dead to hate because it's hiding in you somewhere. The only ethical choice a republican had this election -- if they believed every single thing painted on Hillary over the years at Faux News-- was to not vote at all.

EVEN THE SUPPORTERS THAT HELD THEIR NOSES AS THE VOTED FOR HIM should be seen as hate-filled whether they are or not. Trump supporters are as deadly to us just as the overseers and poor whites that surrounded the slave plantations, waiting to turn in and report slaves for running away 200 years ago. The system of slavery absolutely didn't work without 90% white participation back then -- and that's while only a small fraction of white people owned slaves. Today, the system of white supremacy apparently works with 57% of white people voting to keep it in place. In case you are wondering, yes, I believe 57% white voters represents 57% total adult white population. In fact, if both sides were the same on abortion rights etc, white women would have voted for Trump at a rate of 63 to 66%, maybe more than white men -- if my anecdotal evidence can be believed. I know where I live. I know who I'm talking to day-to-day. There's a reason white feminists are having a hard as hell time trying to be intersectional, arguing among themselves with large numbers of white women who CHOOSE to believe that "Black Live Matter" means "Black Lives Matter ONLY" instead of "Black Lives Matter TOO"

When you believe a group of people not like you are of low character and low integrity, why wouldn't you believe "Black Lives Matter" means "Black Lives Matter ONLY" instead of "Black Lives Matter TOO?" That's how white supremacy works: You believe you are of superior ethical/moral stock and you curse others not like you and yours accordingly.

And when you only care about those inside your white bubble, you think this is just more right / left political shenanigans. Inside the white bubble, you don't care that people are going to be destroyed and that some will actually die. And the teenage girl who submitted her diary entries for us to read understand this. These diary entries should be seen as representing the outcome of hate OR e-race-sure - OR just plain lack of empathy, a lack of empathy so huge that it is justifiably defined as "evil." Angelina Alvarez 's diary entries just broke my heart and and enraged me at the same time * * * * *

Feeling Rebloggy

HEADLINE

‘Don’t tell me it’s going to be OK’: diary of a Latino teenager in the age of Trump

from THE GUARDIAN

Angelina Alvarez fought pro-Trump graffiti by wearing a Dump Trump shirt to school. After he won the election, she kept a diary about her life and feelings

Election Day – 8 November

Trump won … I don’t even know what to think. I’m just scared, I want to be with my grandma right now and just hug her. My grandma that came here as an immigrant, who worked hard, who was able to buy a home, who sent her kids to college, who later became documented. How can people hate someone like her?

I’m looking at my friend’s Snapchat stories and seeing that even a few of my “friends” are excited that he won. I ask them why they hate themselves. Unsure how to answer, they delete their stories. I’m just thinking about all of the families that are going to be affected by this. I pray that we all stay strong and do not back down to any of the obstacles we have ahead of us. It is such a disappointment. Our country is a disappointment.

9 NovemberIt was so uncomfortable at school today … I had my classes that have the biggest Trump supporters in my school. They were surprisingly dead silent, all of them. They didn’t look at me and I didn’t really look at them. I wonder why they were so quiet though, it scares me honestly but I don’t know why.

My sister and friends told me that they saw a lot of people wearing their Trump gear and congratulating each other. I didn’t want to be there, I just wanted to go home. My stomach was uneasy and I didn’t even want to eat lunch. I couldn’t think in class, I couldn’t stay focused. I wanted to run home and just lay in my bed.

Is this really my neighborhood or am I an intruder?

One of my friends that I’ve known since I was in kindergarten, whose mother is undocumented, saw my sister and broke down sobbing. And I just read a post from another friend, she and her mother were taunted by junior high kids yelling “Trump” and “Go back to Mexico”. This is happening here, at my school, in my neighborhood. Is this really my neighborhood or am I an intruder?

10 NovemberThis morning I got a message from a teacher that we were having a meeting to talk about everything that’s going on with Trump. I love that our teachers care about us and how we are feeling. In reading all the posts that people are putting up I feel sad that they are alone and wish they could join us.

I took a couple of my friends to the meeting. At first, there were only about 10 people – 15 minutes later there were about 100 of us. I felt so liberated and happy seeing everyone walking in. My heart was beating so fast I wanted to cry, I wanted to hug everyone. Seeing everyone in solidarity made me so proud, it made me feel hopeful.

About 10 students spoke up and talked about not being scared, to unite and to prove the Trump supporters wrong. I wanted to get up there and point out that it’s not just Trump – he has all these followers behind him that are capable of worse things. I want to compare our situation with what the Jews must have felt when Hitler went from being a joke to being their leader. The pigment of our skin and the accent in our voice is like the star on their clothing.

Read More: http://ift.tt/2iAfb55? http://ift.tt/2j0BKOQ

http://ift.tt/2jVjHYO

#IFTTT #Blogger

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