I feel so empowered! 
I just received an email from Martha (or whatever her/his/its name is), an Academic Counselor at College Degree Fast, the subject of a previous post, informing me that my requested degree choice Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration has been approved by the following accredited universities:
- Central Western University (Texas)
- Southern National University (Florida)
- Westfield University (Internet domain registration in Chesterbrook, PA, USA)
- Liberty International University (Florida)
Why? Because Indeed you have much experience in your chosen field. Your extensive experience and prior education and Technical Training certainly warrant you a degree from several reputable Colleges. That and the assumption that I will enter the number of a valid credit card. Was $499. Now only $389 with free shipping! Below is the message that made my day. The Yahoo! email address adds a special touch.
——————–
From: University Services <universityservices@yahoo.com>
To:
Sent: Saturday, November 5, 2011 9:21 PM
Subject: Choose your Degree & University Today!
Dear ______, Act Soon and Save $100-$200, plus free graduate Item!!
Thank you for filling in the enrollment form relating to your degree at http://www.college-degree-fast.com/ . We will keep your information for 72 hours, after that, (for your security) it is deleted and you may fill in a new one.
My name is Martha, I have included my direct phone number below. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions regarding this unique – Empowering program.
Unlike most on line degree programs, our Network of Universities include:
- NO BAD PRESS ON LINE
- PROFESSIONAL VERIFICATION SERVICE: PHONE/FAX
- MOST AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS, RAISED SEALS, OFFICIAL PAPER
Your requested degree choice Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration has been approved by the following accredited universities:
Our Member Universities are the leaders in on line distance learning. They are fully accredited. You will receive all contact information accreditation websites and more with your package…
Every Career reaches a turning point. At that juncture, the right actions could propel you through a career full of challenges and accomplishments. Likewise, indecisiveness could leave your career growth stagnant for years. Consider the turning point of your career. Your college degree will open many doors of opportunity. Many successful endeavors can follow this.
Please go to Purchase Bachelor to purchase your package & take advantage of the free offer…
Kind Regards, Martha, Academic Counselor, universityservices@yahoo.com, 888-407-1110
——————–
Why and What To Do?
The issue of a private sector company acting as a broker for diploma mills is an example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. Why are individuals permitted to set up for-profit companies, call them universities and engage in transnational fraud?
MAA
Hieu’s Story
26/11/2011Nguyen Trung Hieu (Photo: Tuoi Tre News)
Money may not buy happiness but it can buy security, quality healthcare and access to educational opportunity, among other goodies that also happen to be rights. A lack of it can mean the difference between standing on the outside looking in and entering. You can see and maybe touch but you cannot have. A lack of it can also create a situation in which people eat less in order to meet other pressing needs. This is the conundrum that Nguyen Trung Hieu, a junior at the Hanoi-Amsterdam School for the Gifted, writes about in a widely circulated essay for a literature class assignment.
Hieu writes
Yes, I will do as you told me. I will go to school. I will try to be a very good student to make you and dad happy. But please let me help you, mother. I have thought about it hard. If I can’t do anything to make money, I will go without breakfast to save your money. If I can’t sell bread then I will have rice with sesame and salt. You don’t need to worry, mom. You just need to concentrate on the treatment and take care of yourself. Let me share the burden of poverty with you and dad. I sincerely beg you, mother, not to scold me whenever I miss out on breakfast. Please don’t forbid me when I take out the mortar and pestle to grind sesame. Although I have lost 8 kilos since last year, I believe that with understanding and empathy, our family can live in peace and money will no longer have any role to play in our family’s happiness.
Hieu’s is a story lived by many young people here and in other countries. They are limited and held back in so many insidious ways by poverty and its tentacles. There are a few differences, however: his intelligence, the great eloquence and passion with which he writes and the fact that his story, originally intended for an audience of one (i.e., his teacher), somehow found its way onto the Internet to be shared with an audience of millions. (A third of all Vietnamese are online.)
As you will see, Hieu’s story is deeply saddening and depressing but also inspirational. As educators, citizens, human beings, we must do more, much more to make life fairer for others who are trying so hard and doing so much with so little. So, read the essay and weep but also be inspired and energized; plan your next steps and act. Below are links to the English translation, the original Vietnamese version and a follow-up article in translation:
A heart-rending letter to mom: I hate money
Bài văn lạ của học trò nghèo gây “sốc” với giáo viên trường Ams
Poor student’s essay about the money touch the hearts of millions of people
MAA
Categories: Articles, Commentary
Tags: educational opportunity, high school students, overseas study, poverty, Vietnamese students
Comments: 1 Comment