College Tuition should be decreased

You usually hear and see a lot of advertisements about the time and money savings of a college education. That’s why some young high school graduates easily register in one of the colleges, and hope to get a proper education in the shorter time with less loan and debits. But as soon as they finish the first year of college they start complaining about the tuition fees and other costs which they did not know about when they registered for college. When college administrators do not take the demand for tuition reduction in to consideration, we have to expect a huge harm to our reliable education system, and it may put our country’s future development at risk.
The college administrators discuss student claims about the cost of tuition and say that “it varies.” Colleges come in a wide variety and depending on the choices you make the price of a college education can be quite reasonable, especially if you think of college as an investment in yourself and your future. Also they claim the fact that more than half (53%) of all undergraduate college students attend a four year college, that has published charges of less than $15000 per year for tuition fees.

On the other hand, the college students do not agree with the administrators and provide their fees as evidence of their claims. “The administrators just see and mention one side of the story. They intentionally cover up student claims about the high tuition fee, and do not want to talk about other college fees because it will lead to a comparison between the education qualities of colleges and universities. “If I spent about the same amount on college and university why not go to university instead?” said one of the MacKay college students.
The college students dispute the college administrator’s claim about tuition fees and they say that the tuition is not just the college courses and registration fees. There are some other costs that come along with the course fees, which make it impossible for the students and their families to afford. For example, if you live on campus it would be more expensive for buying or renting a dorm and buying your own meals which add to the expenses. The charges depends on the room and meal plans you choose, if you plan to live at home or anywhere off campus you need to make a estimate of your costs. Another hidden charge is the books and supplies if the college doesn’t help you with the costs. You have to find a way to pay for it. Also, if you add other necessary costs like transportation and personal expenses to the list you come closer to the real college costs not the imaginary costs that administrators claim and advertise.
We are well aware of the college valuable role in education and professional training, which is the back bone of our healthy economy. Also, we know most of the developed countries invest a large part of their budget in professional work force training, so they can live in secure and stable financial conditions for a long term. If we want to stay on safe side of any economical harm, and not worry too much about our future. We have to have a more trained and educated work force. We need to create more jobs and business opportunities to try to help other countries with our highly trained and educated workforce. As a result, it will build a good reputation for our nation and we can establish an active trading business to keep our high stable standard living. If we do not spend enough money on colleges, and leave the students with huge burdens of debts and loans, it is not fair to expect much from our young people to stay optimistic and continue with their education and training in colleges.

Moreover, the colleges get a part of the national budget from the government to improve education system and train young people to become a reliable foundation for our country’s bright future. The taxes which the government give to colleges are collected from the students’ families and citizens of this country. If it is not spend on education, which should prepare the young people for a better life, then for what other purposes it is going to be spent? The government and college administrators have to take this issue in consideration as an important one because it is a matter of the country development and the future of the next generation.
Despite the college administrators argument, that the college fee is affordable, there are many true facts that indicate the high college costs discourage the young people to continue with college education. In the end, the high college costs will affect our education institutions and it may also cause difficulties for our nation’s development.

What Motivates Students to Plagiarize

It is clear that pressure is not the only factor motivating students to plagiarize, but also the professor’s lenience misleads some students to believe that it is possible for one to plagiarize and not get caught .Love and Patrick (1998) add that the same study from College Student Journal shows how some professors carelessly address student plagiarism, and allow for students to cheat and plagiarize rather than penalizing them for such violations of university rules. Therefore, it is not surprising when students blame professors for not being strict and clear with the rules and regulations of plagiarism. They usually assume the professor’s lenience as a green light for plagiarizing (Love and Patrick, 1998). I remember my first semester in Douglas College, my classmates encouraged me to use his last semester’s paper and hand it in as my paper. When I asked him what if the instructor finds out, would it not be a shame? He replied sarcastically,” I did it for a long time and the instructors knew about it but never said anything”.
No doubt, technology with its potential influence and facility makes it even more easer for students to plagiarize. The students can reach any source of information just by typing a few words in the worldwide Google search engine. According to Wang (2008), “Students no longer need to go to libraries and search through rows of books shelves and, manually copy cards and notebooks” (Wang, 2008, p.2). Wang Also mention some facts that nowadays, students can find the most recent and reliable research, journals and papers available online, and they just copy and paste without mentioning even the authors’ name. And surprisingly they submitting the work as theirs own and getting high grades for misbehaviour (Cited in, Wang,2008).Furthermore, some students think collecting small pieces of information, phrases or words, which contains writer’s idea, is not plagiarism and it is allowed to use as theirs ( Wang,2008). A survey done by the Center of Academic Integrity (2005) shows that 77% of the surveyed students did not think taking tiny pieces from different sources from the Internet is plagiarism (Wang,2008 ).
In addition, technologies quick progress makes it easier than before for students not to be worried about academic dishonesty and plagiarize. A student from Iran said that, with smart phones most of the Iranian students order papers form tutors agencies, “ First the student texts the required description, and then the agency will replay with a price and time. If you want it early you have to pay more,” he said. Likewise, a report from an Egyptian magazine shows 65-72% of undergraduate students from college and universities use cellphones and the internet to download articles, essays and even books in foreign languages and claim them as their work. To add insult to injury, three minsters from the Iranian cabinet have recently created counterfeit degrees using the internet in order to earn their titles as cabinet ministers. They were later caught and had their titles taking away by a parliamentary committee but they still remain as government officials.
There is no doubt that plagiarism is a serious issue in educational systems all around the world, but it is not impossible to fight and limit it. If educational institution faculties and professors put in more effort in recognizing and decreasing the pressure on students, if professors explain explicitly the consequences and penalties of plagiarism and finally, if the faculties and government find a way to restrict the usage of technological innovations, then society can be certain that an educational world full of peace and honesty will developed for generations to come.

Preparing for an exam

     Preparing to do an important thing is never easy, especially a final exam. It is almost impossible for me to prepare myself for anything without a particular plan. According to my experience in the middle and high school, the best way to get ready for an exam is to talk to teachers or review and study with friends in a suitable place. First when I know the date and subject of the exam, I will ask my teacher about unclear points to have everything in detail. What topics will be introduced? Will the exam be written, or half written and half multiple choice? How many questions will it contain? After I have a clear understanding, I will move to the second stage of my plan: gather all materials I may need for reviewing. Usually, I highlight important sections and chapters which we have during daily class at school. Also, I take notes on essential information and put them aside for tests and exams. While studying for an exam I attempt to organize my notes, chapters and sections which I have highlighted, and read them very carefully. Then I will test myself on them. As a final step, I will try to find a classmate who I know is as serious as I am about getting good grades.  We will then schedule a suitable time and place that we both find appropriate and comfortable for studying, such as in a library, in a park, or one of our houses. After that, we share all our notes and information we have gathered and discuss any points that we might not be very clear on.  We also create questions about topics that will be covered on an exam, and try to answer them concisely. We repeat these methods many times until we get the answers right and have gained a confidence in what we are studying. In brief, I assure the students who want to be successful to follow my plan (which contains simple steps of asking teachers, reviewing and studying with friends.

The Last Day of School

The last day of most school terms usually ends with a party, or a ceremony. However, it is a little different for courses or semesters in colleges. In college students have to complete a number of courses in a scheduled time which are required for their desired professions.  Students are extremely happy when their courses end because they feel proud to have learned something new. Nonetheless, it is difficult for most students to focus but they must organize their priorities to be able to complete the required courses for their carrier. In addition, when a student finishes a course, he or she should be aware that by finishing a course or semester it does not mean the student is able to see the light at the end of tunnel but that he or she has taken a step closer to the light. To conclude students must always keep in mind that when one thing ends another begins.

How to Improve Your Brain

   The brain is the most important organ in the human body. This organ controls the human feeling and actions; to improve the brain one should follow some easy and effective steps. First of all, you have to establish a comfortable study habit. Choose various subject books for reading, and also, try to find suitable place for your study; moreover, try different methods of concentrations this practice help to challenge your brain ability. Another way, to help your brain remain organized and active for a long time, is to avoid stress as much as possible by having some funs like, walking, biking, traveling around or having family hours and adequate amount of sleep. Lastly, stay away from alcohol and smoking because many studies and scientific evidence show that alcohol and smoking are kill brain cells. In brief, by following the above mentioned steps, you can keep your brain extremely sharp and active.

Newroz

Newroz, in the Kurdish language means a new day, and it is a Kurdish new year. The Kurds celebrate this event for thirteen days in a special way, but the first day, is an important day in this historic event. People buy and wear new clothes; they cook their best foods. Also, they bake different kinds of sweets, and put it on the table for their visitors. Then the elders in the family give gifts and money to the family members, especially kids. The green plants has a visible place in the decorating the Kurds house in this day because they see the plants as a symbol of hope and a fresh start. They give special attention to the sweets in this day too. They think if you start your first day of the year, with sweet tastes the entire year will be full of happiness for you.
Later, they go to visit their parents and close family members to ask them for forgiveness and their blessing. In same day during the afternoon, the families will gather in certain places to have their lunch with each other, so they share their foods with each other joyfully. After eating, they go out to the nature and green environment; they will start dancing and playing traditional games until late at night. The Kurds highly value this event, and they try to pass it to the generation to come with respect. They believe the tradition and costumes, which they practice and follow in these events, are strong bones of their identity.

Tragic Memory

Once I had a horrible experience while my oldest son was a new born baby, my wife’s sudden screaming woke me up around midnight. I could hear her screaming “SNAKE, SNAKE, SNAKE!” I quickly jumped out of the bed, and ran to her in the corner of the room to try to understand what was happening. She shouted” don’t move, you will step on the snake, there in front of you.” I was in shock and I was worried at the same time. I tried to take charge of the situation and control myself so I could help my wife. She yelled “it went into the baby’s room.” Immediately when I heard her say something about the baby, I gathered myself together, opened my eyes and saw the huge black snake raising its head and crawling towards my baby. As soon as I saw the snake heading for the baby, I forgot about everything around me and quickly ran towards the snake to kill it or at least prevent it from doing any harm to my son. I could see the snake was in a confused state as well. My wife was crying as the snake got closer to my sons bed. I quickly grabbed the snakes’ tail, turned it around and grabbed a piece of metal as the snake was attempting to escape to safety. Likewise, I was also doing everything I could to save my baby’s life too. I attacked the head of the snake whacking it a few times. Of course, I didn’t know I was whacking the head until I heard my wife shout “Stop, stop. You killed it.” After a short period of time I realized that I had just saved the lives of my wife and son. Whenever I remember this tragic memory, I hope I will never have to be in that situation again.

Canadian and Iranian educational System

To understand the moral and political differences between the cultures of the world, it is useful to compare their educational systems. A comparison between the Iranian educational systems and the Canadian educational system,is a good example. The Iranian educational system is based on religious belief and is centralized and supervised by the Islamic government and the ruling mullahs. Anything that goes against the Quran, the belief of the 12 imams, Khomeini and the current supreme leader Khamenei is censored and illegal. This explains why the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution is responsible for all the school planning, funding, and teacher training. Also everyone is required to take religious classes and memorize the holy Quran. In addition, a lot of the teachers or school staffs are religious clerics. Moreover, the students disciplined according to hard core Islamism rules. If the were not good in memorizing all the Quran viruses’ and Islam history even if they were genius in the sciences field, yet they could be rejected from schools . In Iran the human experiments are not valued ,or seen as a real base of the education system, however the religious believe has the upper hand ,and has the final word.

On the other hand, the Canadian educational system is based on scientific facts, and human experiments are greatly valued. The religion and politics have no great roll in the foundation of the educational system. It is almost a secular educational system. Officially the education in Canada is a decentralized system, and every different province has it's roll and polices, so the federal government has minimum authority. In Canada the provincial government is in charge of school planning financing, and administration. Canadian schools students may take religious classes if they wish, but it is not mandatory. However, students are required to take science courses till grade 12 and depending on one’s carrier in college and university. Evolution and many other scientific doctrines are much more valued then religious ones, but everyone has the right to belief what they want. The students have the ability to change their educational system through school elections. By investigating the Canadian educational system one could discover its cultural and special values. As a result, when one closely looks into, the Canadian educational system and the Iranian system. They should see clearly moral beliefs and political value in the two cultures clearly.

The advantages and disadvantages of Urban and rural life

I was born in the countryside and lived most my childhood there before moving to the city. Over the years I have come to realize some advantages and disadvantages between life in the city and life on the farm. I prefer living in the countryside compared to the city. Although the city provides more employment opportunities I find the countryside to be more satisfactory and less stressful. People in the city are always busy. On the other hand, nature decides the time of work in the countryside. One works when the sun rises and stops working when the sun sets. The city is very crowded and noise whereas the countryside is less packed and much more peaceful. While in the countryside one can grow organic food, in the city you can go to a variety of different restaurants and enjoy all sorts of cultural foods that are not available in the countryside. Most people move to the city for easier access to education but with the introduction of the internet people are now able to go to school online. In short, I prefer the peaceful and friendly environment of the countryside contrast to the city but regardless of preference both the city and countryside have their advantages and disadvantages.

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion”

I agree with the statement that great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends, fads and popular opinion because all these things are not done for the improvement of one’s life but for mere attention. A lot of times people feel alone and socially unaccepted so in order to fit in with a certain group they decide to dress or speak with the slang most common to that group. All trends and fads have an extraordinary influence on one’s lifestyle because some trends and fads pressure people into a certain type of lifestyle which is often negative and non-beneficial to the person. Trends and fads and followers of popular opinion seem to be the youth. Those who follow popular opinion do not use reason and are therefore led in the wrong path in life but those who disregard popular opinion and follow their own reason are most likely to become successful person in society.

Iraq: a Democracy in the Making

March 7th 2010 was a turning point in Iraq’s history. After Iraq established its independence in 1932 and after the execution of the infamous dictator Saddam Hussein in 2006 Iraq held its first democratic election. When we look back at Iraq’s past we learn of the horrors and hardships that its people have lived through. Throughout history almost all of Iraq’s rulers have come to power with military coup or bloody revolutions. The nationalist Arab officers started the modern history of Iraq with the assassination of its monarch Faisal II. Iraq has never being a strong, unified country and it’s always been under the influence of different powers such as Britain, America and the Soviet Union.

Iraq has been a country of constant warfare and crimes against humanity. The Kurds who are the second largest nationality in Iraq have been the victims of the fascist Baath (national) party of Saddam Hussein who deprived them of their democratic freedoms. The Kurds were always discriminated against for their nationality and language and the Shia minority much like the Kurds endured the most inhumane crimes imaginable. In 1988 Saddam began a campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Kurdish population of Iraq known as the anfal campaign. 200,000 Kurds were buried alive and 5,000 in the Kurdish town of Halabja were exterminated by the use of poisonous gas all in one day. The people never had freedom or saying in government. Those who spoke against the central government were brutally terminated. In 1980, Iraq went to war with its neighboring country Iran for the return of the Persian Gulf which had previously been given to the shia of Iran in 1975 in a deal with Saddam in favor of suppressing the Kurdish movement in Iraq. Once the Islamic revolution brought Khomeini and his mullahs to power in 1979 Saddam demanded the return of the Persian Gulf but Khomeini refused and this resulted in the first 8 year long Gulf War which cost 2 million lives.

The main aim of the Baath party and their leader Saddam Hussein was to create a strong Arabic empire with Iraq as its central power. In 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait to gain the oil reserves and natural resources which would make further expansion possible. Kuwait plead for aid from the United Nations and a coalition of 32 countries led by the United States pushed Iraqi forces off Kuwaiti soil and ended the war. Had these nations not stepped in to stop Saddam there is no saying which country he might have invaded next? Saddam’s ruthless killings did not stop until the 2003 American invasion.

The people of Iraqi have never had any saying in government decisions and this is why Iraq has always had authoritarian leaders in the past. However, for the very first time Iraqi’s have the right to vote and a constitution which protects their rights and liberties. Even though, we hear of car bombings and terrorists activity there is no denying the fact that Iraqi’s enjoy an amount of freedom that they were not able to enjoy in the past. The people have decided to follow a path of democracy and as long as they continue on this pass their progress is unstoppable.

How to Win an Argument

The art of arguing is an important skill,and it is essential to students who studying political science, philosophy, economics and other social sciences. To win an argument is not an easy task, and it is even harder to outline the steps one needs to take to win. When I am facing with an argument, I first begin by researching, and identifying all the pros and cons to prepare myself. Next, I let my opponent present his argument, where he stands in the debate and why? After a while, I state my argument, and show the truth of it by asking my opponent questions. Try and control your temper. It is important that one does not get emotional or angry at his\her opponent for their claims. Then Try questioning your opponent’s claims further by turning his own argument against him, exaggerating it or by using different meanings of his words. Afterward, use your opponent’s answers to try and draw your conclusion. Finally, try to bring forth evidence that your opponent has no knowledge of, but do not make any claim that you cannot prove. If you follow these simple steps then you are likely to win in any argument.

Dreams

Playing professional soccer, earning a university degree and becoming a journalist were my main wishes since I was a teenager but unfortunately they have not come true yet. During my years in elementary and secondary schools I was one of the best soccer players, my family and friends were predicting a bright future for me on the field. Also, I had good skill in writing simple story’s and compositions. I remained an A student in my class and my teachers used to call me a journalist. Of course, it was crystal clear to me that I had to attend university first to become a real journalist after. At least these were my father’s wishes too. He was repeating these wishes all the time before me until I believed them and even as a teen I was telling about these wishes to everyone I knew. Unfortunately during 1979 the Islamic revolution happen in my country and it was start of my family’s exile line. We were Kurds and a political family so we could not stay in our country. To stay safe from new revolutionary Islamic guard on time we moved to the mountains and remained there for a longtime. After the mountains we move to a refugee camp which were protected by U.N.H.C.R and stayed there for a decade without any access to school and basic service for living. 20 years after those black days I still work hard to fulfill my wishes. Due to the fact that I am no longer that teenage boy I cannot become a professional soccer player, but I still have faith that I can complete my university degree.