See the Impact you can have as a Teacher:

·        An overview of our organization (2min video)

·        Our mission in a nutshell (2min video)

The Basics and Benefits of Teach For America:

·        All academic majors and backgrounds accepted

·        Select your regional placement (not random assignment) from our 53 communities

·        Teach any grade level (preK-12) and subject including ELL and SpEd

·        Salary ranging from $24,000-$55,000 a year with health insurance and retirement benefits

·        Americorps Education Award of $11,550 and loan deferment/forbearance

·        Option to earn your certification and/or Masters in Education/teaching

·        Graduate school and employer partnerships for alum to continue their leadership and impact

·        DACA recipients are eligible to apply.

Start your application HERE! www.teachforamerica.org/apply

Please email Chrystal Gaither (chrystal.gaither@teachforamerica.org) with any questions and visit the Teach for America website: www.teachforamerica.org

**This is not a UMBC Serves event

The housing crisis of 2007 and rising college tuition rates are the two greatest financial crises of this generation. Observing all the steps that culminated in the housing crisis provides some insight on what may end up becoming the biggest, most far-reaching burden this generation will ever face.

During the 2007-2008 years, the housing crisis was essentially caused by banks loaning unlimited amounts of money to people who did not have the means of paying it back. These actions significantly contributed to the following recession. Banks knowingly continued to lend money out irresponsibly consequently putting massive amounts of debt onto a large portion of Americans. This scenario is starting to resemble the student loan bubble.

Student loans are primarily provided by the federal government, which typically allows students and parents to borrow up to their specific tuition rates. It may seem as if loaning the amount needed to students is the logical route to take; however, without some sort of stricter cap on these loans this age group will possibly spend decades attempting to pay off their degrees.

Going to university is becoming the new norm, and loans are crucial for many to be able to afford school. Loans are necessary, but the nearly unlimited amount of borrowing will and has caused almost inescapable debt for graduates. The solution? Cap federal loans.

Freshman pre-pharmacy major Annie Shafiq stated, “After graduating, many students find themselves in debt and do not know how to overcome this issue. Having a cap on loans from the start can help them in the long run and eliminate many economic problems they could face.”

When federal loans offer coverage on all tuition needs, it signifies to colleges that the government can pay tuition. Even if tuition is raised, their students can still “afford” to come to school despite a higher rate of payment. Universities can then constantly raise their cost of admission with the knowledge that the government can foot the immediate bill. After graduation, students will eventually be drowning in the debt of their loans (plus interest).

When asked about how caps on loans would affect how universities set tuition, Shafiq claimed “if there was a cap on loans, lenders and colleges would also stop increasing their tuition/interest rates which ends up hurting the students heavily in the long run.”

Theorizing that tuition is growing partially due to universities responding to unlimited loans is supported by statistics from the Labor Department. In the decade after 2003 tuition grew 80%. To put that in perspective, the second fastest growing sector, medical care, went up 43.1% in the same time period.

This growth is clearly not as simple as inflation, which occurs naturally within economic structures. This is evidenced by the consumer price index, whose prices grew less than half of the percentage that tuition did. The astronomical rise in tuition over the years can potentially be slowed down significantly if a cap on loans was enforced and severely limited.

The post How to limit the debt monster appeared first on The Retriever.

Psalm 119:97-104 [the letter Mem]

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law!

I meditate on it all day long.
⁹⁸ Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
¹⁰² I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.

With Valentine’s Day just behind us, we may be thinking about what love, or at least “romantic” love, is like.  How about - “I just can’t stop thinking about her/him!”  In many ways, this is true; in those early stages when the excitement and romance are high, it is hard to turn your thoughts away from the other person.  But as someone who has been married for more than 20 years, I can say that a mark of lasting (hopefully more real) love is also thinking about the other person.  For a while it was full of emotion and “I can’t help it.”  Then it became deliberate, choosing to remember and think of him.  Now, it is much more of a habit to think of my husband.

Our thought life toward God’s word can be like that.  When we love God’s word, we think about it; we meditate on it.  And when we meditate on God’s word, we grow to love it more, and even more, as we experience its goodness and benefits.  Then one day, we come to realize that it is more of a habit to think of God’s ways and word.  What a time to look forward to!

Let’s ask God to give us a love for His word that meditates on it.  Then, find a way today to remind yourself to turn your thoughts to God’s word again and again.  (Some suggestions - set an hourly reminder on your phone, showing a verse God has put on your heart; put a post-it note somewhere you go often each day; write a star or symbol on your hand to remind you; set up with a friend to snapchat each other a certain verse several times a day.)

When you have 5-10 minutes to yourself today, read Psalm 119:57-112 aloud.  As you do so, choose and hold onto one or two verses that you will meditate on in the days to come.

- BR

Students often see discussion sections as a waste of time, going so far as to skip them if the sections barely impact their grade. However, when implemented successfully, discussion sections have proven to be vital in improving overall grades and learning experiences.

One course that many STEM-based freshmen have to take is Chemistry 101. With its grueling exams and vast amounts of necessary study time, CHEM 101 has proven its worth among the ranks of UMBC’s hardest courses.  

As a guideline for student success, UMBC recommends that for every one hour spent in class, three hours should be spent outside of class practicing the material. Nevertheless, most students do not commit this much time studying on their own. This is where discussion sections come in.

Discussion sections are usually mandatory. Yet, students who take the class simply for a grade, as opposed to taking the class to truly learn the material, frequently do not take advantage of this learning opportunity.

In the introductory levels of chemistry, the discussion sections are dubbed ‘Discovery Learning’, as they are held in the University Center’s Chemistry Discovery Center. These are the types of discussion sections that classes should strive to incorporate.

Discovery Learning sections are held once a week for an hour and fifty minutes, allowing students more time to review and understand material presented in class. Students work in groups of four to complete electronic worksheets, and each student is given a role they have to fulfill to make sure one person is not doing all the work. If the group finishes their work early, they are given another worksheet to do until the end of that time block.

Studies and observations made by the faculty behind discovery sessions have shown that since Discovery was introduced in 2005, withdrawal rates, coupled with grades of D’s and F’s, have been cut in half. Grades have also improved, with only 9.9% of students getting an A in 2002 and 26.3% of students achieving an A in 2008. Discovery also improved the average final exam performance in the same semester it was implemented. This led to a higher retention rate of students within chemistry and biochemistry majors.

Discussion sections should be modeled after Discovery’s active learning structure, because it would allow students to understand how to solve problems by working together. The elongated time slot would give more time for students to pinpoint what concepts confuse them.

By focusing on the learning that takes place in a longer discussion section, professors can see gains in performance throughout the course. Dr. William LaCourse, the Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and Professor of Chemistry, noted that since Discovery Learning was made mandatory and part of the class grade, students have displayed a higher level of understanding in the course.

Though students continue to complain and dislike discussion sections, the data does not lie. Sacrificing a couple hours of time for the sake of a grade is definitely an appropriate trade off.

UMBC is always looking for ways to improve student retention rate and grades. Reforming discussion sections is only the first step in many towards improving education at UMBC.

The post Discover the power of discussion sections appeared first on The Retriever.

Hello UMBC League of Legends club members,

Signups for all of the events are linked below. Please fill these out if you plan on going to the events. If you have any questions about any of the things linked below, please feel free to email me back. 

Tournament on the 24th signup:

https://goo.gl/forms/EEZKkN6ZOX6gbBwb2

Public Relations position application:

https://goo.gl/forms/NmjiKtaxlHHtclW42

UMBC League Signup:

https://goo.gl/forms/pK5O9jVy4GqPUiVu2 

Thank you,

- Your LoL club Executive Board