I'm a Poli Sci major (as referenced in the post "My Fake Major"). This means that I spend most of my time in classes that focus on how the government runs, domestic and foreign policies, and theories about how states should form/act/etc. Which means I pay a lot of attention to politics. And I've realized something...
When you get a Poli Sci major to talk about their future plans, if they have any, you tend to hear: campaign advisor, lobbyist, diplomat, civil servant, lawyer... One of my friends even wants to go into work in the prison system, because, hey, we'll always have prisons. Very, very rarely does a student go into Political Science with the goal of becoming a politician. Or maybe it's a few years of studying the system that scares us all out of it. Who knows really?
But I think it's an interesting indictment on our political system that the students who have devoted their college careers, and potentially their lives, to studying it want nothing to do with it in the end. In my case, as I think I've probably mentioned before, it's because I think domestic politics gets far too clouded by things that don't really matter. It also has a lot to do with the fact that I find it sad that people's personal and family lives are dragged through the mud in an attempt to prove they're not suitable for office.
But just imagine how differently our system would operate if the people who spent their lives studying the field were the ones who went into government. If you didn't have to explain to the average Congressman the difference between debt and a deficit. If everyone in government knew that states are all constitutionally required to submit a balanced budget - one that requires BOTH cuts in spending and increases in taxes, if necessary. If the people arguing for state sovereignty knew the thinkers who gave that phrase meaning.
We require our lawyers to pass the Bar Exam. We have the highest academic expectations of our doctors. Yet we don't have an educational requirement for the people we let run the country. And so the people who spend their lives learning how the system works end up going elsewhere - either outside of it, or inside, learning to game the system instead.
Politically Yours,
Rachel Leigh
This is a blog about things, about thinking about things, about talking about things, and about being as snarky and poignant as I can manage. I hope you enjoy it.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
On Halloweekend/Update
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Which is odd, because I spent many years of my life with a pathological fear of Halloween decorations. No haunted houses for me, thanks. But when I was younger, I used to love the ridiculous Halloween costumes that my mother and I would plan out (which always won me awards and free stuff, and we all know how much I love free stuff), even though my request in sixth grade was that I wanted a costume that, for once, I could sit down in. Try sitting down in an operating traffic light costume. Do it, I dare you.
Not the point. The point is, that as I got older, my costumes got slightly less inventive, but I never stopped enjoying planning them out, even as college began putting demands on me for four and five costumes over the course of Halloweekend. Which is why it made me slightly sad to realize today that Halloween weekend is only four days away (three depending on who you ask), and I haven't even thought about a costume or plans or anything. I think it's partially because Halloween isn't really that big a thing here (and because I've had a lot of other things on my mind recently), but it just makes me sad that it could have snuck up on me like this.
On the bright side, Tivoli has this gorgeous and magical Halloween village that made me really happy, so I'll attach some photos of that. Regularly scheduled rant posts will resume in a few days.
Not the point. The point is, that as I got older, my costumes got slightly less inventive, but I never stopped enjoying planning them out, even as college began putting demands on me for four and five costumes over the course of Halloweekend. Which is why it made me slightly sad to realize today that Halloween weekend is only four days away (three depending on who you ask), and I haven't even thought about a costume or plans or anything. I think it's partially because Halloween isn't really that big a thing here (and because I've had a lot of other things on my mind recently), but it just makes me sad that it could have snuck up on me like this.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
On My Fake Major
It's no secret that I'm a Political Science major -- I blog pretty often about politics (although I do try to keep it non-partisan (...I said "try," people, no writer is without bias!)), and it even says in my bio that I'm an "aspiring political activist." I am quite proud of my studies and the work I hope to do in the future, and I'm not ashamed of my major.
Which is why I get really annoyed when people treat me like my major isn't real. I almost feel like I didn't even really choose my field; Political Science chose me. By the time I came to college, the gravitational pull in that direction was so strong that no one I went to high school with even has to question what I decided to major in. I chose my major because it's what I'm passionate about, because the work I do for it is good, and because I'm very excited about what doors it may open for me when I graduate.
So let's get down to the nitty-gritty of why people seem to think my major is "fake."
My favorite question, by far, is, "What are you planning to do with that? Become the President?"* Now, if you're an Actuarial Studies major, an Astrophysicist, or studying Chemistry with plans to take up Pharmacology later in life, feel free to ignore this part of the discussion -- your unemployment rates are literally zero and you are therefore pretty much exempt from this whole issue. You will always have jobs because your fields are either too depressing, too boring, or too complicated for the vast majority of students, so we will always need people like you! Go you! But if you are planning to major in pretty much anything else, you can expect your job prospects to be pretty grim. Almost every field sees an unemployment rate of around 7%. Interestingly enough, the unemployment rate for students with Political Science degrees? 6%, according to a study done by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce**.
Let's face it, there are only so many Fortune 500 companies in the world to run (incidentally, there are 500 of them), which I'm pretty sure means that, even if everyone in charge of every one of those companies either retired or died, there STILL wouldn't be enough available positions for all of the Business School graduates from just my tiny University alone from the last three years. So I guess that makes your "job prospects" question a moot point. I appreciate your concern.
The other major (get it?) question I get a lot in relation to my major's legitimacy comes down to the number of units in my major. My major has a 10 unit class requirement (which equates to about 35-40 credits for all you crazy credit-system students out there), which is, admittedly, on the lower end.
There are a few reasons I think this complaint lacks legitimacy. First, we're all still required to complete the minimum 32 classes to graduate that everyone else is. We don't suddenly get to call it a day after a year and a half. Second, part of the reason the major is so small and flexible is because they encourage us to pick up minors, second majors, research, or study abroad semesters, and they want the major to be flexible enough to accommodate that. I actually feel bad for some of my friends in the hard sciences or business programs who just don't have the flexibility to go abroad. Third, and in my opinion, most importantly -- trying to take an entire semester of Political Science courses is crazy. If your brain doesn't explode from all the readings (which often contradict each other because theories contradict other theories and often those contradict practice), your fingers will probably freeze up and develop early-onset carpal tunnel from all the papers you'll write.***
It's not that I think other majors don't deserve credit -- I absolutely do. Most students I know work hard and get stressed, and everybody has their own skill sets. I, for one, am glad my best friend from high school is the Engineering major and I am not, because I would build bridges that would collapse and kill people. But while most people I know in my field recognize and respect the legitimacy of other majors, it makes me sad that we don't get the same respect in turn. Our skills are different than yours and our paths and passions took us in a different direction. Why does that make us any less worthy?
Studiously yours,
Rachel Leigh
* Leaving aside the fact that very few of the Political Science majors I know want to become politicians. That's a post for another day (one which is currently in the works).
** Source: http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/
*** Shout out to Dr. Dagger and Dr. McDowell for combining to make me write more papers as a first semester freshman than many of my friends will write their entire time in college!
Which is why I get really annoyed when people treat me like my major isn't real. I almost feel like I didn't even really choose my field; Political Science chose me. By the time I came to college, the gravitational pull in that direction was so strong that no one I went to high school with even has to question what I decided to major in. I chose my major because it's what I'm passionate about, because the work I do for it is good, and because I'm very excited about what doors it may open for me when I graduate.
So let's get down to the nitty-gritty of why people seem to think my major is "fake."
My favorite question, by far, is, "What are you planning to do with that? Become the President?"* Now, if you're an Actuarial Studies major, an Astrophysicist, or studying Chemistry with plans to take up Pharmacology later in life, feel free to ignore this part of the discussion -- your unemployment rates are literally zero and you are therefore pretty much exempt from this whole issue. You will always have jobs because your fields are either too depressing, too boring, or too complicated for the vast majority of students, so we will always need people like you! Go you! But if you are planning to major in pretty much anything else, you can expect your job prospects to be pretty grim. Almost every field sees an unemployment rate of around 7%. Interestingly enough, the unemployment rate for students with Political Science degrees? 6%, according to a study done by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce**.
Let's face it, there are only so many Fortune 500 companies in the world to run (incidentally, there are 500 of them), which I'm pretty sure means that, even if everyone in charge of every one of those companies either retired or died, there STILL wouldn't be enough available positions for all of the Business School graduates from just my tiny University alone from the last three years. So I guess that makes your "job prospects" question a moot point. I appreciate your concern.
The other major (get it?) question I get a lot in relation to my major's legitimacy comes down to the number of units in my major. My major has a 10 unit class requirement (which equates to about 35-40 credits for all you crazy credit-system students out there), which is, admittedly, on the lower end.
There are a few reasons I think this complaint lacks legitimacy. First, we're all still required to complete the minimum 32 classes to graduate that everyone else is. We don't suddenly get to call it a day after a year and a half. Second, part of the reason the major is so small and flexible is because they encourage us to pick up minors, second majors, research, or study abroad semesters, and they want the major to be flexible enough to accommodate that. I actually feel bad for some of my friends in the hard sciences or business programs who just don't have the flexibility to go abroad. Third, and in my opinion, most importantly -- trying to take an entire semester of Political Science courses is crazy. If your brain doesn't explode from all the readings (which often contradict each other because theories contradict other theories and often those contradict practice), your fingers will probably freeze up and develop early-onset carpal tunnel from all the papers you'll write.***
It's not that I think other majors don't deserve credit -- I absolutely do. Most students I know work hard and get stressed, and everybody has their own skill sets. I, for one, am glad my best friend from high school is the Engineering major and I am not, because I would build bridges that would collapse and kill people. But while most people I know in my field recognize and respect the legitimacy of other majors, it makes me sad that we don't get the same respect in turn. Our skills are different than yours and our paths and passions took us in a different direction. Why does that make us any less worthy?
Studiously yours,
Rachel Leigh
* Leaving aside the fact that very few of the Political Science majors I know want to become politicians. That's a post for another day (one which is currently in the works).
** Source: http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/
*** Shout out to Dr. Dagger and Dr. McDowell for combining to make me write more papers as a first semester freshman than many of my friends will write their entire time in college!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
On Danish Kids (also, an update)
It's been ridiculous recently, sorry I haven't been posting.
As you may or may not know, I was in Brussels, the Hague, and Amsterdam all last week, so my internet access was unreliable at best. Lessons I learned on that trip:
Today, we took a tour of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing. Admittedly, I'd done this before, but it was kind of cool to get one from a prominent Parliamentarian and we ended up talking about our impressions of Denmark - namely Danish attitudes towards children.
Which is what I thought I'd talk to you all about today. The Danes have a very different idea about children and childhood than we have in the States. Children are given a lot of freedom - I've seen 6 or 7 year olds riding the Metro alone or in small groups, and apparently in a kindergarten class one of my friends is working with, the students are given a lot more free choice about what they're going to do with their time.
The stereotypical example is that Danish mothers will often leave baby carriages (with the babies inside) outside of stores and cafes while they go inside, because the likelihood that your child will get kidnapped in Copenhagen is unfathomably small.
But I just think the level of independence and choice they give children is really interesting. We structure the lives of children so much to help and protect them, but from what I can see, Danish kids seem to do pretty well on their own.
Pedagogically? yours,
Rachel Leigh
As you may or may not know, I was in Brussels, the Hague, and Amsterdam all last week, so my internet access was unreliable at best. Lessons I learned on that trip:
- Even most EU citizens are confused about what the EU does
- Sharing a room with 11 other people is detrimental to my ability to sleep
- A man with a faucet on his head isn't normal, but in Amsterdam it is
Today, we took a tour of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing. Admittedly, I'd done this before, but it was kind of cool to get one from a prominent Parliamentarian and we ended up talking about our impressions of Denmark - namely Danish attitudes towards children.
Which is what I thought I'd talk to you all about today. The Danes have a very different idea about children and childhood than we have in the States. Children are given a lot of freedom - I've seen 6 or 7 year olds riding the Metro alone or in small groups, and apparently in a kindergarten class one of my friends is working with, the students are given a lot more free choice about what they're going to do with their time.
The stereotypical example is that Danish mothers will often leave baby carriages (with the babies inside) outside of stores and cafes while they go inside, because the likelihood that your child will get kidnapped in Copenhagen is unfathomably small.
But I just think the level of independence and choice they give children is really interesting. We structure the lives of children so much to help and protect them, but from what I can see, Danish kids seem to do pretty well on their own.
Pedagogically? yours,
Rachel Leigh
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