I had a lovely walk and talk with a friend of mine yesterday. Among other, we discussed why our society is so fragmented and competitive, whereas both of us agreed that people should cooperate and share more...
It really is strange how competitive people can become in the strangest of circumstances. Take my field of work: development. There are thousands of organizations in the field, many competing against each other, and diverting so much energy from working towards the common good, which one would expect them to have as their primary goal. Even within these organizations, there are frequently ruthless power struggles. Information is not shared with the most obvious useful contacts. Backstabbing is common. This happens also in NGOs, or fully voluntary organizations.
I admit that I have been fairly lazy in terms of voluntary work in my life. I was active in a couple of organizations during my university time, but more on the sidelines. I was elected onto a university alumni council twice, which with just even five members was a surprisingly frustrating, divisive experience. I'm now experiencing the same with our school's parents association. In an attempt to work for the common good, and to move things forward (quickly), I'm getting a lot of criticism, and so far, not a single thank you.
What are the motivations of people volunteering for such fora, or working for these organizations, I have often asked myself. And why do I take these things so personally? Like I told my friend yesterday during our walk, I often feel like I am just too naive for these sectors in life. For me it is so obvious that information should be shared, if it is not classified or harmful to share. It is so obvious that everyone can contribute to a common goal, and that one person's contribution does not mean another person's loss in these fields of work.
Why can people not be motivated by oneanother's energy and effort?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Save Affirmative Action in Education!
The US Supreme Court is currently deciding on the future of affirmative action in America. Most people around the world know about US affirmative action in education, and some (including my fellow students from a university law course) will know about its beginnings in the 1950s with the court case "Brown vs Board of Education". Abigail Fisher, a white Texan who wanted to study in her home state university, recently took the case to court following a rejection, on what she (or her lawyers) argued was a constitutionally unfair result following a university's attempt to fulfill race quotas.
I find this affirmative action case worrying for two reasons. First, take a stroll on Harvard square, as I did last week. 95 % of students are white. 4 % are Asian. There may be one or two black people. I'm sure the statistic is slightly more favorable on paper, but this was my impression. A professor at Harvard told me that the case is even more striking among professors. Out of 200 professors in his school, only one is black. (Very few are women).
Second, I think the case illustrates our current times. Professors and teachers are becoming open about their criticism to the "problems of heterogeneity". Just two days ago, I had to listen to our children's' international school's management sight about "those people who do not understand our language". And they are saying this to me, a foreigner here in Germany!
Does this mean that affirmative action has been a failure? No, it means that university's and school's find loopholes to select their preferred candidates. Was it Yale or Princeton that introduced personal interviews after WWII to ensure that Jewish students are practically banned from selection? It's hypocritical PR to select one black and Asian student to ensure that photo-ops present a "ethnically heterogeneous" student body, and behind their backs bicker about "cultural problem cases".
The root causes of racial inequality in education go much deeper than university admissions. But to give up "up" here at the university level is worrying, especially as the education levels below, with school busing and vouchers and whatnot is an utter mess.
I find this affirmative action case worrying for two reasons. First, take a stroll on Harvard square, as I did last week. 95 % of students are white. 4 % are Asian. There may be one or two black people. I'm sure the statistic is slightly more favorable on paper, but this was my impression. A professor at Harvard told me that the case is even more striking among professors. Out of 200 professors in his school, only one is black. (Very few are women).
Second, I think the case illustrates our current times. Professors and teachers are becoming open about their criticism to the "problems of heterogeneity". Just two days ago, I had to listen to our children's' international school's management sight about "those people who do not understand our language". And they are saying this to me, a foreigner here in Germany!
Does this mean that affirmative action has been a failure? No, it means that university's and school's find loopholes to select their preferred candidates. Was it Yale or Princeton that introduced personal interviews after WWII to ensure that Jewish students are practically banned from selection? It's hypocritical PR to select one black and Asian student to ensure that photo-ops present a "ethnically heterogeneous" student body, and behind their backs bicker about "cultural problem cases".
The root causes of racial inequality in education go much deeper than university admissions. But to give up "up" here at the university level is worrying, especially as the education levels below, with school busing and vouchers and whatnot is an utter mess.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Applications
Over the past 15 years, I have written dozens of university applications (bachelor, master, PhD) and hundreds of job applications. I have been lucky with some, and unlucky with many more. An accepted application opens new doors, and defines the direction our lives take for the next year or two or more, if one decides to walk through that open door. The door may open to a new country, to a new field of specialization, to new acquaintances and friends. Rejections at first feel like having a door slammed in your face. With age you realize that it's just one door closed (sometimes just for the time being), and many more doors left to knock on.
The funny thing with having kids is that, suddenly, applications for (private) kindergartens and schools come into play, on top of one's own applications. It's sad in a country (Germany) where children's mobility and educational success depends so much on their parent's position, but we have had to sell our own background and (rather) successful careers to get our kids into the schools we want them to be in. We are feeding a system that I wish I could work against, but on the other hand, we want our children to have the best education possible, and believe this does not take place in a normal state school in Berlin (not because of other pupils or their parents, but because of massive shortages in teachers, large classroom sizes, and lack of funds for equipment and facilities). It could, if we would all be willing to invest into education and change the system, but not in time for my kids' education.
I have in past posts mentioned that we have been contemplating a move away from Berlin (mainly for the sake of my career prospects, which are very unfortunately rather limited in this wonderful city). Our main condition was that all three of our kids get a place in a school that we have applied for. The application package (and fee) was impressive, to formulate it positively. We had to submit progress reports for our kids from all of their kindergarden years. Our kids are just 6, 4, and 1! They were all accepted.
We (my family) live in a world of luxury. I wish it could be the case for all children in the world, in particular in terms of their education. I'm glad that there are amazing people working towards this goal, among my friends and elsewhere. Respect.
The funny thing with having kids is that, suddenly, applications for (private) kindergartens and schools come into play, on top of one's own applications. It's sad in a country (Germany) where children's mobility and educational success depends so much on their parent's position, but we have had to sell our own background and (rather) successful careers to get our kids into the schools we want them to be in. We are feeding a system that I wish I could work against, but on the other hand, we want our children to have the best education possible, and believe this does not take place in a normal state school in Berlin (not because of other pupils or their parents, but because of massive shortages in teachers, large classroom sizes, and lack of funds for equipment and facilities). It could, if we would all be willing to invest into education and change the system, but not in time for my kids' education.
I have in past posts mentioned that we have been contemplating a move away from Berlin (mainly for the sake of my career prospects, which are very unfortunately rather limited in this wonderful city). Our main condition was that all three of our kids get a place in a school that we have applied for. The application package (and fee) was impressive, to formulate it positively. We had to submit progress reports for our kids from all of their kindergarden years. Our kids are just 6, 4, and 1! They were all accepted.
We (my family) live in a world of luxury. I wish it could be the case for all children in the world, in particular in terms of their education. I'm glad that there are amazing people working towards this goal, among my friends and elsewhere. Respect.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Political Animals
I have three degrees in political science, and therefore also have many friends who have studied with me, or work in this area. But how many are politically active? A few, a dozen maybe. How many are politically interested? 100 percent, I would guess. It's a strange gap, even though I remember sighing at questions such as "so you will become a politician because you study politics?" way back when I started studying.
Maybe it is age, or maybe it because I realize that I actually have opinions on many things that I was not so sure of ten or 15 years back, that I feel like it's time that we all start "doing", and not just "analyzing". I myself definitely fall into the latter category, but am taking first careful steps, realizing that I have the confidence and - moreover - the skills to do so.
This is a call for all of you in particular who have settled somewhere: get active. Whether it be in your school, your local community organizations, or local politics. Or national. Or international. You have so many talents, so much skill. Take a look at some of these fora, and you will realize that you can significantly contribute, and might be far better at organizing processes or getting results than the rest of the group.
In particular to the women out there: find your confidence! Find your voice, say what you want to say. Start somewhere.
Maybe it is age, or maybe it because I realize that I actually have opinions on many things that I was not so sure of ten or 15 years back, that I feel like it's time that we all start "doing", and not just "analyzing". I myself definitely fall into the latter category, but am taking first careful steps, realizing that I have the confidence and - moreover - the skills to do so.
This is a call for all of you in particular who have settled somewhere: get active. Whether it be in your school, your local community organizations, or local politics. Or national. Or international. You have so many talents, so much skill. Take a look at some of these fora, and you will realize that you can significantly contribute, and might be far better at organizing processes or getting results than the rest of the group.
In particular to the women out there: find your confidence! Find your voice, say what you want to say. Start somewhere.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Capturing Memories
I'm back in Berlin after a wonderful trip to the US east coast, where I met many good old friends. Travelling with one toddler ended up being miraculously easy, and driving through the Indian summer folliage was simply breathtaking. I unfortunately took only few photos, as my ancient camera fell apart. What a shame, since I love documenting my life in photos. Ever since I was a child, I have made photo albums. I continue to do so, old style, with paper photos and glue and texts. I make photo albums for all (5) of us. It takes a lot of time, patience and a lot of bookshelf space. But there is nothing that beats looking at old photos. Special ones, not the 800 digital unedited ones. My kids love sitting on the sofa, looking at old baby photos of themsleves. I hope that one day, whenever they settle into their own homes, they will occasionally pull out an album and look at all the badly cut, hastily glued in photos. And this way remeber summers with cousins, baths with siblings, first school days, funny costumes and hair styles. Mommy is very absent in their lives from this perspective, but I hope they will know that I was there, behind the camera. Not everything can or should be seen through a lens, but some memories fade so fast, it is a treasure to have them captured. Just last night, I spent hours catching up with pasting photos (they pile up so fast), and felt so happy seeing so many wonderful people whom I have had the chance to spend time with during this past half year. My favorite ending to a blog: gratitude.
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