TD & M
inister
Pachakuti and the lake Titicaca
Yeah! Magazine is published by DMP - Dreams Media Producers Address: 6 Cumberland Street Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Dublin, Ireland. www.yeah.ie - info@yeah.ie
Brazil's school f laws highlighted by citizen activism By Richard Gibney There was a time when – if you felt slighted about a long stint in detention, or you were being picked on in class – you could Rate your Teacher in an online rant. Earlier still, for centuries, there was very little you could do about unfair classroom teaching techniques. Student activism has become more prolific in recent years, with advances in social media. If you want to highlight an issue with re s p e c t t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a l , environmental or social deficiencies of an institution, Yeah! Magazine would like to hear about the campaign that you’ve launched. You might find inspiration in the details of a young Brazilian’s Facebook Community Page. A recent Facebook post by thirteen year old student Isadora Faber has explained how she now is officially “on vacation” – along with the rest of her school – due to the school’s budgetary circumstances. Her irony is clear when she suggests that this is “democratic” because every student is shown the same level of equity – regardless of how assiduous or rowdy they have been in their yearlong studies. The post has so far been liked by more than fourteen thousand, and her FB page, Diário de Classe, has built up more than a half million subscribers to December 2012. In August, it had 160,000. Problems with exposed 6
Yeah! International Student Magazine
live wiring, substandard food, and the budgets and accounts of the education system are fair game on this Community page. Isadora was inspired by a Scottish student who had posted complaints about the lack of nutrition and quality of the school dinners available at her school in the UK. The Brazilian student has implied that attempts have been made by the school to discourage her posts, including classes during which the school’s regulations have been discussed, alongside the consequences of posting libelous or defamatory content about the school or its staff members. With the Facebook page’s popularity growing, Isadora discerned a message from the teacher that was both clear and veiled. The result was a visit to the local police station, widespread media attention, and a subsequent increase in Isadora’s fame. Other Brazilian students have now seized on the opportunity to highlight problems in their own schools. A plethora of mainstream media reports describe how high school pupils are posting the details of poor school facilities and services, and how their educators
are now commending their citizen activism, rather than deploring it. Isadora’s home city of Florianopolis in Santa Catarina ranks highly on the Human Development Index. It is regarded as one of the top urban centres in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite such success stories, as an emerging economy, Brazil has been heavily criticized by such bodies as the World Bank for its education system, with private companies finding that they have to establish their own classes so as to introduce basic reading and mathematics skills to their workforces. Social welfare programs that provide “cash for attendance” to families with infants and children of s c h o o l - go i n g a ge h ave b e e n introduced in recent years, which have been in part responsible for a significant reduction in poverty. However, with many of Brazil’s other regions underdeveloped by comparison with Florianopolis, the problems for the Ministry of Education have become – if not more pronounced – certainly more obvious.
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ISV Magazine
p o P x o V Yeah!
Special report!
International student magazines join forces
By Dan Thomas The Pie news Two magazines aimed at international students but based on opposite sides of the Atlantic have teamed up to promote mobility. Yeah! International Student Magazine, based in Ireland, offers advice about the country and its culture to overseas students, while the US-basedInternational Student Voice (ISV) does much the same in the US. The two will share articles, correspondents and advertising in 2013, hoping to tap the other's growing readership.
“We have similar objectives and we will share articles and work together” “We are sharing practically everything,” Yeah! Magazine'sdirector, Raffael Abarca, told the PIE News: ”We have similar objectives and we will share articles and work together to promote education in Ireland and the US to promote our businesses.” The US has long been a major source of international students for Ireland, sending 4,445 in 2011/12, up slightly from the previous year and second only after China. Meanwhile, 1,100 Irish went the other way and long standing ties exist with the Irish American community. The deal could augur more interflow. Launched this year, Yeah! is the only magazine of its kind in Ireland and given out at every university, many English language schools, as well by agents overseas. Yeah! Magazine, Ireland, and International Student Voice in the US will share content and advertising
The US sent 4,445 students to Ireland in 2011/12; 1,100 Irish went other way. 30
Yeah! International Student Magazine
Lauren Hudson-University of South Carolina This photo was taken at The Burren, in Ireland, where I am currently studying abroad. The photo represents opening up to all the new and exciting experiences that being an international student has to offer.
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Overall 2012 Score Rank 100 1 99.8 2 99.2 3 98.7 4 98.6 5 98.3 6 97.5 7 96.3 8 95.4 9 95.1 10 94.7 11 94.5 12 92.8 13 92.1 14 91.7 15 91.2 16 91.2 17 90.4 18 89.6 19 89.5 20 89.2 21 88.1 22 87.9 23 87.6 24 87.2 25 87.1 26 85.4 27 85.4 28 85.1 29 85 30 84.6 31 84.2 32 83.5 33 83.3 34 83.3 35 83.2 36 82.2 37 81.4 38 81.3 39 80.1 40 79.6 41 79.5 42 78.9 43 78.8 44 78.6 45 78.2 46 77.7 47 77.5 48 77.4 49 76.8 50 71.3
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2011 Rank 3 1 2 7 5 6 4 8 13 12 10 9 18 15 11 16 14 17 23 19 20 21 22 26 28 27 24 30 35 25 34 29 40 33 32 31 42 41 38 37 36 39 44 46 51 48 58 47 43 45
2010 Rank 5 1 2 4 6 7 3 8 10 9 11 12 18 16 13 17 15 19 29 14 22 28 23 20 31 21 26 27 32 24 35 30 40 33 25 38 50 48 37 42 36 39 41 47 44 43 74 54 34 49
65
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FORMING GLOBAL MINDS
University College Dublin International Study Centre International Foundation Year Pre-Masters Programme Progression to a wide range of degree programmes including Business, Chemistry, Mathematics, Economics and more Entry from IELTS 5.0 or equivalent
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR JANUARY 2013 Top 1% world university∗ Ireland s largest and most international university More than 5,000 international students from 122 countries 25% international staff Located in Dublin, Ireland s capital *QS World University Rankings 2012
Programmes start on January 14th, 2013. For more information or to make an enquiry, visit www.ucd.ie/isc or call a Student Enrolment Advisor on +44 (0)1273 339333.
www.ucd.ie/isc
UCD International Study Centre, 19-20 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland