TA: Topics for Paper A: Education

1. I have read a lot already about the public educational system in Mexico. There are "escuelas primarias" (elementary schools) in nearly all of the rural ranchos, but it is much harder to find a "secundaria" (junior high). In one district, each rancho could have a primaria, but you would have to bus the children half an hour to a neighboring rancho to attend la secundaria. In many rural areas, the children would need to be bussed up to an hour and a half away to attend "la prepa" (high school). What are the consequences of this? No one goes to school more than six years. It's too hard, it's too expensive to get the kids to stay in school, and the family needs the child's help on the farm anyway. Many parents are unsupportive of programs to take their children away for their education because they either do not understand the benefits or do not value education as highly as most college educated people do. What could be done to increase the number of students who successfully graduate from junior high and high schools in rural Mexico?

2. Many university libraries are slowing the pace at which they acquire physical materials (books, journals, etc.) in favor of subscriptions to online resources. Since the internet has such a vast array of information, some people think that this allows libraries to spend the same amount of money on subscriptions that yield more information. Others think that this procedure actually decreases the amount of information available to students, because many databases only display back issues of journals, and others limit their available selection to current issues, and older issues frequently become unavailable. In many instances, libraries subscribe to databases hoping to get the largest amount of material in return, but inevitably, some journals are not included in the library's selection. Since libraries always have limited funding, they must decide whether to have a more paper-oriented collection and limit their online collections, or to have a more online-oriented collection but suffer a reduction in physical materials.

3. Joining a sports team in junior high can be a very traumatic experience for many students. It creates new in-groups and out-groups and isolates some children from others. In addition to these common psychological strains, the coaches get to decide who plays more often than other students. If a child sits on the bench during his sixth grade season, he is more likely to sit on the bench during the seventh and eighth grades. His future in school sports depends largely on his physical ability early on. In many cases, school coaches use harsh language and punishments to encourage their athletes to perform better. They yell and make even the toughest of little boys cry. But studies show that sports do help children develop physical coordination and social skills. School athletes often stay out of trouble due to their participation in sports. In many cases, being part of an organized athletic activity can help a struggling student to raise his GPA. Do the psychological risks outweigh the benefits that children receive from participating in school sports?