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Generation Now:
Finding the U in Education Available now on Amazon for only $9.50
All proceeds are donated. March, 2020 This book is a collaborative effort by Union College students. They address the changes they wish to see in education. Each writer grapples with a unique and personal issue that has significantly impacted their lives. They set out to make change in their respective communities and inspire the next wave of change makers. |
A LITTLE TASTE
Hannah Oxholm ~ Actually, Let Me Burst Your Bubble: Exploring Education and Conformity
If you have ever thought about educational individuality and academic support for different learners, Hannah has the right story for you. She explores the need for us to challenge the limits of our environments through the juxtaposing educational journey between her and her sister. Hannah highlights both the successes and challenges within their “bubbles” and how that continually affects their mutual growth and global understanding.
Reid Nichols ~ A “Free and Appropriate Education”: For All, or For All Who Can Fight For One?
Despite the researched importance of early intervention and special education services, not every child has equal access to these services. There are public services available to all children to ensure that no child is left behind. However, a successful use of these services is largely dependent on a parent’s ability to understand their child’s proper rights, as well as how to be an advocate. By digging deep into her own experiences in the special education system, Reid unearths how her own privilege is a big reason why she was able to graduate from the system. Not every child comes from the same background, and Reid argues that we need to create policies that will put children from all backgrounds on a level playing field when it comes to their education.
Clara Stone ~ It’s Okay to Cry: Why Students Are Not Alone in Their Struggles Throughout School
Kids have a lot of problems—at home, in school, emotional, physical, psychological. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, these issues are not dealt with appropriately. In both low-privileged, at-risk schools and more upper-class, privileged schools, enough resources are not provided to make certain students aware of how they can cope with stressful situations, and further process unfortunate incidents and circumstances in their lives in which they feel that they are responsible for taking care of. Clara takes us through a diverse range of childhood experiences that shaped her as a person, and how they were (or were not) dealt with accordingly. She highlights the importance of getting help for our nation’s diverse student population and establishes a very important message—no child should ever feel alone.
Mikayla Carhart ~ Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Names Won’t Always Hurt Me
One in three students experience bullying. Mikayla shares how three boys destroyed her self-worth in middle school and her subsequent transformation towards self-love. Bullying is not a rite of passage and nobody should be bullied through the entirety of their educational career. With the increase in social media bullying has no limits. Mikayla speaks about the effects of bullying and how you too can take broken pieces and rebuild yourself into the individual you want to become.
Alexis Henrikson ~ I Am a Lucky One: Accepting My Learning Differences
In this piece, Alexis describes her experience in the special education system: the emotions that go hand in hand with the process of testing, stigma, and the acceptance of her learning differences. From educating the educators to the muddled policy of Child Find, Alexis examines what should be done in the education system to break the cycle of stigma that surrounds learning differences/disabilities.
Eeshan Kumar ~ Practice makes Perfect: Conquering Public Speaking Anxiety
Public speaking is a skill that people utilize throughout their careers and lives. But, it can be a terrifying experience, resulting in embarrassment and even public humiliation. However, it does not have to be this way. It can be enjoyable, enthralling, and exciting. Eeshan shares his struggle with public speaking anxiety and how consistent practice allowed him to speak from his heart and overcome his anxiety. Through the integration of public speaking into curriculums, schools can help students freely and joyfully express their ideas, making their voices heard.
Hallie Shapiro ~ Hi, I’m Hallie, and I Am Average
Each student has their own personal strengths when it comes to school. When schools value certain achievements over others, there can be a desired mold that students feel they need to fit. This piece focuses on the struggles of attending a public high school with an extremely competitive and cut-throat atmosphere. Hallie not only struggled with the harsh competitive atmosphere of her high school, but also her own personal academic challenges that her school could not fully accommodate. This piece sheds light on the feeling of being labeled as “average” in a place where everyone is competing to be the best: a place where the “average” fell through the cracks, to be lost, left behind, and forgotten.
Zack Porat ~ The Summation of Change: How Individual Efforts Can Add Up to Combat Math Anxiety
People are scared of math. We need to talk about it. Impacting a majority of Americans, math anxiety describes the negative feelings associated with solving numerical problems in both everyday life and academic situations. Despite its prevalence, math anxiety remains an under-researched subject. Motivated by his time spent working with students in STEM-related fields, Zack discusses the root causes of math anxiety and presents several practices that can help combat it from a young age.
Sophia Anderson ~ A Sojourn of Stories: My Journey With Literature
Have you ever felt the warm embrace of a book? A story so similar or so vastly different from your own, that you could not help but fall into it? Sophia’s story is about the loving, yet frustrating encounters with reading. She emphasizes and explores the lessons they teach as well as touches upon the flaws that exist in teaching literature. Despite the affinity one may have for these stories, shifts and changes in society have reduced the space for and encouragement of reading. Sophia discusses the importance she assigns to certain works of literature and the lessons they have taught her as she navigates her development through reading.
Maddie Hamparian ~ Proficiency vs. Deficiency: Advocating for English Language Learners
For many of us in the United States, our education was taught in our native language: English. However, some students do not have that privilege. In today’s education system, there are diverse students whose first language is not English and many struggle to reach their potential in schools as districts do not have the adequate tools to support English Language Learners in the classroom. Maddie connects her abroad experience and learning Spanish with that of an ELL student from one of her mother’s previous special education classes. In doing so, she exposes some of the obstacles that ELL students face while proposing solutions that can lead to more equity in education.
Daniele Durkin ~ For the Better and For Good: Educating Inmates & Reducing Recidivism
The unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is high, so many turn back to crime to earn enough money for survival. This is a crisis that can only be eased by one thing: education. Studies spanning decades have shown conclusive evidence: the more advanced an education that inmates receive is, the less likely they will go on to perpetuate the cycle of recidivism. Daniele explores these statistics further, offering concrete examples as to how the federal government—and educational institutions—are changing the educational landscape for inmates for the better.
Andreina Negretti ~ Educating the Future: Normalizing Non- traditional Educational Systems
Is it possible that a personalized educational experience would have changed your life? Andreina compares her educational experience with the experience of her little brother, Juani. Historically, our traditional educational system has not been effective in doing exactly what it is set out to do—educating our children. It often makes generalizations and does not recognize the individual characteristics, conditions, and interests of each student. This is how the non-traditional models of education arise. Let’s make sure that every student is engaged and interested in the material that they are studying, that their curiosity is fomented, and that their individual characteristics are taken into account.
Srihari ~ Let Our Education Help Us Soar To The Sky, Not To Heaven
Every student deserves an education where he or she could enroll in courses and explore career paths that pique their interest. In his narrative, Srihari sheds light on how the Indian education system restrains students from pursuing diverse majors in college and delving into fields that they are passionate about. He also elucidates the relation between rote learning of concepts, which the Indian education system has compelled students to do, and its impact on students’ mental health. Furthermore, Srihari examines the severe consequences of peer pressure and competition, such as suicide, that has risen due to the lack of quality education in India. By using his and his peers experience with the Indian education system as the engine to propel his story, Srihari offers plausible solutions that will enable students, not just in India but also in countries where teenagers face problems with their education system, to soar to the sky, not to heaven.
Madyson Whitney ~ Is This What You Want To Be Doing?
With college acceptance rates becoming lower every year, students are feeling more and more pressure to fit a specific definition of success. This is causing an increase in mental health issues among young students entering college that most campuses are not equipped to handle. Madyson explores how we can support students’ passions while also emphasizing the importance of mental health. Through her own experience with mental health issues and struggles in the education system, Madyson explores how we can erase the stigmas surrounding success, failure, and mental health by asking ourselves: “Is this what I want to be doing?”
If you have ever thought about educational individuality and academic support for different learners, Hannah has the right story for you. She explores the need for us to challenge the limits of our environments through the juxtaposing educational journey between her and her sister. Hannah highlights both the successes and challenges within their “bubbles” and how that continually affects their mutual growth and global understanding.
Reid Nichols ~ A “Free and Appropriate Education”: For All, or For All Who Can Fight For One?
Despite the researched importance of early intervention and special education services, not every child has equal access to these services. There are public services available to all children to ensure that no child is left behind. However, a successful use of these services is largely dependent on a parent’s ability to understand their child’s proper rights, as well as how to be an advocate. By digging deep into her own experiences in the special education system, Reid unearths how her own privilege is a big reason why she was able to graduate from the system. Not every child comes from the same background, and Reid argues that we need to create policies that will put children from all backgrounds on a level playing field when it comes to their education.
Clara Stone ~ It’s Okay to Cry: Why Students Are Not Alone in Their Struggles Throughout School
Kids have a lot of problems—at home, in school, emotional, physical, psychological. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, these issues are not dealt with appropriately. In both low-privileged, at-risk schools and more upper-class, privileged schools, enough resources are not provided to make certain students aware of how they can cope with stressful situations, and further process unfortunate incidents and circumstances in their lives in which they feel that they are responsible for taking care of. Clara takes us through a diverse range of childhood experiences that shaped her as a person, and how they were (or were not) dealt with accordingly. She highlights the importance of getting help for our nation’s diverse student population and establishes a very important message—no child should ever feel alone.
Mikayla Carhart ~ Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Names Won’t Always Hurt Me
One in three students experience bullying. Mikayla shares how three boys destroyed her self-worth in middle school and her subsequent transformation towards self-love. Bullying is not a rite of passage and nobody should be bullied through the entirety of their educational career. With the increase in social media bullying has no limits. Mikayla speaks about the effects of bullying and how you too can take broken pieces and rebuild yourself into the individual you want to become.
Alexis Henrikson ~ I Am a Lucky One: Accepting My Learning Differences
In this piece, Alexis describes her experience in the special education system: the emotions that go hand in hand with the process of testing, stigma, and the acceptance of her learning differences. From educating the educators to the muddled policy of Child Find, Alexis examines what should be done in the education system to break the cycle of stigma that surrounds learning differences/disabilities.
Eeshan Kumar ~ Practice makes Perfect: Conquering Public Speaking Anxiety
Public speaking is a skill that people utilize throughout their careers and lives. But, it can be a terrifying experience, resulting in embarrassment and even public humiliation. However, it does not have to be this way. It can be enjoyable, enthralling, and exciting. Eeshan shares his struggle with public speaking anxiety and how consistent practice allowed him to speak from his heart and overcome his anxiety. Through the integration of public speaking into curriculums, schools can help students freely and joyfully express their ideas, making their voices heard.
Hallie Shapiro ~ Hi, I’m Hallie, and I Am Average
Each student has their own personal strengths when it comes to school. When schools value certain achievements over others, there can be a desired mold that students feel they need to fit. This piece focuses on the struggles of attending a public high school with an extremely competitive and cut-throat atmosphere. Hallie not only struggled with the harsh competitive atmosphere of her high school, but also her own personal academic challenges that her school could not fully accommodate. This piece sheds light on the feeling of being labeled as “average” in a place where everyone is competing to be the best: a place where the “average” fell through the cracks, to be lost, left behind, and forgotten.
Zack Porat ~ The Summation of Change: How Individual Efforts Can Add Up to Combat Math Anxiety
People are scared of math. We need to talk about it. Impacting a majority of Americans, math anxiety describes the negative feelings associated with solving numerical problems in both everyday life and academic situations. Despite its prevalence, math anxiety remains an under-researched subject. Motivated by his time spent working with students in STEM-related fields, Zack discusses the root causes of math anxiety and presents several practices that can help combat it from a young age.
Sophia Anderson ~ A Sojourn of Stories: My Journey With Literature
Have you ever felt the warm embrace of a book? A story so similar or so vastly different from your own, that you could not help but fall into it? Sophia’s story is about the loving, yet frustrating encounters with reading. She emphasizes and explores the lessons they teach as well as touches upon the flaws that exist in teaching literature. Despite the affinity one may have for these stories, shifts and changes in society have reduced the space for and encouragement of reading. Sophia discusses the importance she assigns to certain works of literature and the lessons they have taught her as she navigates her development through reading.
Maddie Hamparian ~ Proficiency vs. Deficiency: Advocating for English Language Learners
For many of us in the United States, our education was taught in our native language: English. However, some students do not have that privilege. In today’s education system, there are diverse students whose first language is not English and many struggle to reach their potential in schools as districts do not have the adequate tools to support English Language Learners in the classroom. Maddie connects her abroad experience and learning Spanish with that of an ELL student from one of her mother’s previous special education classes. In doing so, she exposes some of the obstacles that ELL students face while proposing solutions that can lead to more equity in education.
Daniele Durkin ~ For the Better and For Good: Educating Inmates & Reducing Recidivism
The unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is high, so many turn back to crime to earn enough money for survival. This is a crisis that can only be eased by one thing: education. Studies spanning decades have shown conclusive evidence: the more advanced an education that inmates receive is, the less likely they will go on to perpetuate the cycle of recidivism. Daniele explores these statistics further, offering concrete examples as to how the federal government—and educational institutions—are changing the educational landscape for inmates for the better.
Andreina Negretti ~ Educating the Future: Normalizing Non- traditional Educational Systems
Is it possible that a personalized educational experience would have changed your life? Andreina compares her educational experience with the experience of her little brother, Juani. Historically, our traditional educational system has not been effective in doing exactly what it is set out to do—educating our children. It often makes generalizations and does not recognize the individual characteristics, conditions, and interests of each student. This is how the non-traditional models of education arise. Let’s make sure that every student is engaged and interested in the material that they are studying, that their curiosity is fomented, and that their individual characteristics are taken into account.
Srihari ~ Let Our Education Help Us Soar To The Sky, Not To Heaven
Every student deserves an education where he or she could enroll in courses and explore career paths that pique their interest. In his narrative, Srihari sheds light on how the Indian education system restrains students from pursuing diverse majors in college and delving into fields that they are passionate about. He also elucidates the relation between rote learning of concepts, which the Indian education system has compelled students to do, and its impact on students’ mental health. Furthermore, Srihari examines the severe consequences of peer pressure and competition, such as suicide, that has risen due to the lack of quality education in India. By using his and his peers experience with the Indian education system as the engine to propel his story, Srihari offers plausible solutions that will enable students, not just in India but also in countries where teenagers face problems with their education system, to soar to the sky, not to heaven.
Madyson Whitney ~ Is This What You Want To Be Doing?
With college acceptance rates becoming lower every year, students are feeling more and more pressure to fit a specific definition of success. This is causing an increase in mental health issues among young students entering college that most campuses are not equipped to handle. Madyson explores how we can support students’ passions while also emphasizing the importance of mental health. Through her own experience with mental health issues and struggles in the education system, Madyson explores how we can erase the stigmas surrounding success, failure, and mental health by asking ourselves: “Is this what I want to be doing?”
