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Op-Ed
Follow us at twitter.com/ThresherOpEds 3
Transition to online journalism inevitable Even the world's poorest can
afford good private education
The world of print journalism is
evaporating. The paper versions of
The Rocky Mountain News and the Se-
attle Post-Intelligencer are gone forev-
er; my hometown newspaper in San
Antonio, the Express-News, now has
a staff roughly the same size as that of
The Rice Thresher. Time reports that
the Boston Globe is losing $1 million
dollars a week, and rumor has it that
even the The New York Times is bur-
dened by enormous debts.
of the Internet's voices can act both
as a divisive tool and as a means of
honing in on the truth. This is the
principle behind Wikipedia: With a
large enough group of honest users
looking to find the facts, eventually
the facts will be found.
And the internet's massive power
for recognizing spin has helped it
scoop the print media several times.
Matt Drudge was the first person to
report that Bill Clinton and Monica
Lewinsky were having an affair, and
Dan Rather retired shortly after blog-
gers revealed that he had presented
forged documents as evidence for a
major news story.
44
Brian Reinhart
Many news outlets, like the
Post-Intelligencer, are switching to
online-only formats. Those print me-
dia sources lucky enough to survive
write columns about the inferiority
of Internet news sites. An April ar-
ticle by Atlantic Monthly reported,
"In a poll of prominent members
of the national news media, nearly
two-thirds say the Internet is hurting
journalism more than it is helping."
One anonymous respondent told At-
lantic that the Internet "has blurred
the line between opinion and fact
and created a dynamic in which ex-
treme thought flourishes while bal-
anced judgment is imperiled."
The Reuters Handbook of Jour-
nalism's section on Internet news
reporting has a special section en-
titled, "Is it a hoax?" explaining to
aspiring journalists that they need to
be wary of false news stories online.
There is a good bit of truth in this
worry, of course. Political crises have
been caused by chain e-mails, mali-
cious discussion-board rumors and
Sarah Palin's Facebook page. But the
competitiveness and sheer diversity
The competitiveness
and sheer diversity of
the Internet's voices
can act both as a
divisive tool and as a
means of honing in
on the truth.
99
Lying unstated behind the fear
is the simple fact that the media is
afraid of the Internet. Print journal-
ists (and TV reporters, after Rath-
er's downfall) worry about the com-
petition and enter the medium with
hesitation. But the truth is that the
rest of us are already there.
News Web sites like BBC Online,
Politico and the Huffington Post, as
well as online magazines like Slate
are already huge destinations for
readers like us. The future of jour-
nalism is online, and we should
get used to it. We should also build
models which will enable important
reporting and analysis to proceed
online with integrity.
The path to that goal begins, for
students like us, here at Rice. Since
last year the Thresher has hosted in-
teractive online content, including
comments sections, slideshows and
polls. With its new Twitter feeds and
sports blog, the paper has expanded
its online contenf exponentially
within the last year. The Thresher
also runs some articles as online
exclusives, which are often read by
many Web surfers with no connec-
tion to the Rice community.
The Rice Standard is, if anything,
even further ahead. The Standard's
new online edition rolls out on
Sept. 14, with a slate of online con-
tent, multimedia, discussions and
over two dozen regular bloggers. The
Standard's business plan is to be not
merely a source of engaging writing
but a laboratory for the creation of
new content by student bloggers,
staff writers and even guests.
The potential of the new medium
is enormous. Last year, as a printed
publication, the Standard conducted
the most comprehensive political
poll in Rice memory, when over 400
students told the magazine about
their voting plans in the 2008 elec-
tion. Now an online format makes
mass participation in studies of stu-
dent opinion even simpler.
The Rice community has long
lacked a stable online new-media
community, especially since some
residential college discussion boards
have been flooded with spam. The
Thresher and the Standard are both
looking for creative ways to meet this
void, and to do so quickly. In their
different ways both publications are
providing Rice with a new model of
media. Before the writers, reporters
and artists of our campus commu-
nity graduate, they have a chance to
prepare for the media world's new
challenges and opportunities.
Brian Reinhart is a Wiess College
junior and Thresher calendar editor.
Choosing majors a personal journey
By now, it has become devastat-
ingly clear that the summer is no
more — stacks of books, unending
problem sets and dozens of exams
and papers remind us that we are
in for a long, grueling semester of
nonstop academia.
Christine Pao
For those students still work
ing their way through their first
or second years (or a select few in
their third, fourth or even fifth),
the daunting task of choosing ma-
jors must be addressed. Although it
seems fairly obvious that students
should choose their majors based
on their interests, some people,
for several reasons, just don't get
the message.
Maybe you were the overachiev-
ing kid who always thought you
wanted to be a doctor or engineer,
just because it seemed like a proper
career for someone of your high
intelligence level. You're the type
of person who whines about an
A-minus and loads up on extracur-
riculars to prove your superior ex-
istence. Well, guess what? You're
probably not as smart as you've
been brainwashed to think.
Rice may be highly ranked ac-
cording to U.S. News and World
Report, and it may be home to an
unusual number of geniuses, but
chances are you are not one of them.
So get off your high horse and stop
ruining what a college education is
supposed to be. If a subject doesn't
matter to you, don't pretend like
it does. You're not fooling anyone
but yourself.
There is also the chance that
you've been severely oppressed by
your parental units throughout your
entire life — perhaps they constant-
ly make it a point for you to choose
a major they believe is best for you.
Well, screw your parents. Although
they are most likely the ones fund-
ing your college education, your
voice is ultimately the only one that
matters in terms of choosing which
direction your future will take.
You are an adult. You make your
own decisions. There is absolutely
no reason for you to adopt someone
else's expectations as your own.
Worst of all, you could be one of
those horrible people who choose
a major based on its potential ca-
reer profitability. Just go ahead and
throw away all your ambitions of
being a screenwriter, a photojour-
nalist, an anthropologist — bask in
the wealth of your six-figure salary
while your peers struggle to find
jobs amidst the full swing of the re-
cession. But fear not: The satisfac-
tion of financial security will wear
thin before long, and you will rot
away in the emptiness of your life,
wondering what could have been.
For the record, I'm not criticiz-
ing those who have chosen the
pre-med or engineering route - by
all means, if that's what you want
to do, then do it. But 1 cannot stress
enough how vital it is to choose a
major that interests you.
The practicality of a major may
appear to be the most important
factor in these financially troubled
times. Job availability after gradua-
tion is a legitimate concern. But as
students, what are we if we don't fol-
low our academic passions? Our ed-
ucation loses its value when we lose
our drive, our hunger, to learn. So do
what you love, and forget the rest.
44
,4s students, what
are we if we don't
follow our academic
passions? Our
education loses its
value when we lose
our drive, our hunger,
to learn.
99
Ideally, choosing a major that
interests you will be coupled with
a job that interests you. At the very
least, you'll always know that you
did something that matters to you.
Plus, following those passions
will make your problem sets and
papers all the more manageable,
which should be worth it any day.
Christine Pao is a Martel College
sophomore and Thresher
opinion editor.
How can the world's poor educate
themselves? The Beautiful Tree: A Per-
sonal Journey Into How The World's
Poorest People Are Educating Them-
selves, a recent book by Newcastle
University professor James Tooley,
recounts how, on a trip to study elite
schools in India, he stumbled upon
private schools serving poor students
in the slums of Hyderabad's Old City.
David Splinter
The students' parents often paid
$1-2 a month for private schooling.
Bear in mind that many of the par-
ents earn around only $25 a month.
How could these for-profit pri-
vate schools possibly stay afloat with
such a small tuition?
Were the schools run on char-
ity? No, although the staff often
expressed motivation to improve
the community.
Did these schools survive by hir-
ing low-quality teachers? No, as Mr.
Tooley cites a UNESCO report con-
firming consistent teacher quality.
The schools survived by cutting
costs that did not directly contrib-
ute to student learning. Instead of
funding fancy buildings and buses,
converted houses served as school
buildings for children from the
surrounding neighborhood.
A UNESCO report stated that
80 percent of students in some In-
dian cities pay to attend private
schools rather than attend poor-
ly-run, tax-funded government
schools. In poor rural areas, often
30 percent of students attend pri-
vate schools. The message is clear:
Even some of the world's poorest
families and communities can edu-
cate themselves, independent of
government financing.
The story of private schools for
the poor also made me wonder why
only 11 percent of American children
attend K-12 private schools. Why
have families and local communi-
ties not formed their own schools, as
many have in India?
Tuition rates are much higher in
the United States than in India. Even
in Catholic schools, which usually
offer lower tuition than many elite
private schools, tuition costs total
around $4,000 per year (although
this figure is still less than half of the
roughly $10,000 per-pupil spending
in Texas government schools, in-
cluding capital costs).
Catholic school tuition, without
discounts, is still about $400 per
month, or five days' wage at $10 per
hour, 40 hours per week. That means
low-income Americans must work at
least twice as long as the poor in India
to pay for a month of private school.
Tuition rates may be so much
lower for these private Indian
schools because of fewer regu-
lations or less enforcement of
regulations. The lower barriers to
entry mean private schools can
open more quickly and run with
lower costs. For example, despite
maintaining high standards, the
teachers and schools often lack
government certifications.
Costs can also be held down with
larger class sizes, but to keep student
performance high, large classes need
fewer interruptions per child — that
is, stricter discipline. This may be
more easily accomplished in private
schools, where expulsion of disrup-
tive students is easier.
Interestingly, Tooley found that
entrepreneurs are starting for-prof-
it schools serving the poor around
the world, from China to South
America. In one of the poorest
slums of Nigeria, Tooley says, "The
fees might be about $4 per month -
perhaps 10 percent of a typical fish-
erman's monthly earnings."
Why do parents sacrifice so much
of their meager incomes rather than
send their kids to a free government
school? Tooley explains that "the
majority of poor schoolchildren
[who] attend private schools outper-
form the state schools, all with lower
salaries for teachers."
The success of low-cost private
schools means U.S. policy makers
may need to rethink conventional
global schooling efforts. Instead of
pouring funds into a Global Fund
for Education that follows "country-
driven solutions" — meaning for-
eign national governments would
have a significant say in spending
aid money — American tax dollars
should support "student-driven" or
"parent-driven" solutions.
If our government directs edu-
cation funds directly into foreign
government hands, those funds
can displace effective private
schools and lead to corruption. The
Economist describes Hugo Chavez's
recent education reform in Venezu-
ela as accomplishing the following:
"Schools will come under the su-
pervision of 'communal councils,'
indistinguishable in most places
from cells of the ruling socialist
party. Central government will run
almost everything else, including
university entrance and member-
ship of the teaching profession."
44
The success of
low-cost private
schools means U.S.
policy makers may
need to rethink
conventional global
schooling efforts.
99
Chavez's response to dissent
was to fire tear gas at university rec-
tors approaching parliament. With
this kind of abuse possible, should
we support nationally-run schools
abroad over the homegrown, low-
cost private school alternative?
American students can benefit
from low-cost private schools, just
like children around the world.
Houston already has an example of
how to provide private education to
low-income families. The Cristo Rey
Jesuit College Preparatory School
funds 70 percent of its operations
with salaries earned by high school
students in work-study programs.
This allows parents to pay a small fee
based on their income, perhaps $25
per month. The school also boasts
that last year 98 percent of its gradu-
ates were accepted into college.
The term "the beautiful tree" was
used by Mahatma Gandhi to describe
the traditional Indian educational
system, which had a more bottom-
up model than the British top-down
system. If you have an interest in
education or bottom-up systems, The
Beautiful Tree can teach important
lessons previously hidden in devel-
oping neighborhoods.
David Splinter is an economics
graduate student.
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 11, 2009, newspaper, September 11, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443024/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.