Week 16: "Saudi Women Shatter the Lingerie Ceiling" - NY Times

1. Women in Saudi Arabia are finally being able to sell lingerie and cosmetics in retail shops.
2. Gives more concrete women's rights to Saudi women, who are usually restricted by Shari'a law and religious police. 
3. Because of the increasing number of women in Saudi Arabia who are getting educated, the government is realizing the effect of their economic output on the country's economy as a whole if they hold jobs. 
4. This may lead to more freedoms for Saudi women, such as the ability to drive in Saudi Arabia without a male escort or hold a variety of jobs. 

This relates to me because of its impact on women's rights as a whole. Although the prospects for completely equal rights has increased over the past 100 years, the progress in the Middle East regarding women's rights has been significantly less than the progress in Western countries. However, because of the increased need for Middle Eastern countries to become involved in the Western economy, many Middle Eastern countries are acquiescing and allowing more rights to be had for women in their country. This does indicate more progress, but the gap between women's rights in Western countries and women's rights in Middle Eastern countries is still very large. 

Source: Lippman, Thomas W. "Saudi Women Shatter the Lingerie Ceiling." New York Times. 21 Jan 2012: n. page. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/opinion/sunday/saudi-women-break-a-barrier-the-right-to-sell-lingerie.html?ref=middleeast>. 

Week 15: "The True Cost of High School Dropouts" - NY Times

1. The amount of high-school-age kids dropping out of high school is a growing problem in the USA. 
2. A high-school graduate is more likely to pursue a higher-education degree and therefore end up making significantly more income throughout their life.
3. Every high-school graduate benefits taxpayers with an extra $127,000 over their lifetime, and has a 50-100% increase in lifetime income compared to an adult who didn't graduate from high-school.
4. Our economic competitors, in Europe and Asia particularly, are increasing their number of high school graduates while the US' number of high school graduates is dropping - this will negatively affect our economy. 

As a high school student, this issue heavily impacts my life. Although I know that I will not be dropping out of high school, I understand that this is a very prevalent issue in the US, especially in poorer areas. The state of our future economy is also influenced by the amount of money many American citizens are making in relation to the rest of the world; therefore, it is also influenced by the number of high-school graduates the US is responsible for (because high-school graduation has such an impact on a person's lifetime income). This article also serves as way to highlight the importance of education in America, and how the failing of the American education system will do nothing to help the future of the country.

Source: Levin, Henry M., and Cecilia E. Rouse. "The True Cost of High School Dropouts." New York Times. 25 Jan 2012: n. page. Web. 5 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/the-true-cost-of-high-school-dropouts.html?_r=1&ref=contributors>.

Week 14: "The lasting impact of good teachers" - CNN

1. A good teacher in a student's life substantially impacts the student's later life by way increasing the chance that the student attends college, earns more money, and avoids teenage pregnancy.
2. A study conducted by Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman, and Jonah E. Rockoff evaluated teachers by using the 'value added' method - the average improvement that a student of a specific teacher has throughout the course of a year. 
3. The difference between a low VA teacher and a high VA teacher's presence in a student's life can amount to a sizable sum - up to $2.5 million dollars lost/gained.
4. Teachers are the second most influential people in a child's life, next to a child's parents.

As a student who has had her share of good and bad teachers, it is interesting to learn about the impact that a teacher can have on a student - not just during the school year, but decades after graduation. This only adds importance to educational professions, which are usually underrated. The relevance of teachers in society and the influence that they have on the success of a country and the future of the world is higher than most think.

Source: Bennett, William J. "The lasting impact of good teachers."CNNOpinion. 11 Jan 2012: n. page. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/11/opinion/bennett-good-teachers/index.html?hpt=op_bn4>.

Week 13: Synthesis - How Thomas L. Friedman Views Society

By observing his column for about a month, one can see that Tom Friedman views society through a largely liberal lens and is particularly interested in international current events, and the impact that these events will have on the future of the world and the future of the US. His ardent support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its efforts to work with the Department of Transportation to increase the average mileage made by all cars manufactured by US automakers shows his concern for the state of the current environment, and how he believes that the government should intervene in order to encourage a more 'green' America. This belief is shared by mostly liberals, because many conservatives believe that the US government has no right to 'restrict' private businesses with deals like the one in process between the EPA and the Dept. of Transportation. Tom Friedman also displays a concern for the world as a whole and shows how his views are not always US-centric by discussing the protests in Syria in his column. He discusses the impact that the protests in Syria will have on the stability of it's government, and the potential impact that this could have on the rest of the Middle East (and maybe even the USA).