SHOULD PRIVATE SCHOOLS BE ABOLISHED?

 Today, in many countries, there are private schools which are preferred by some people for their better physical conditions and the education they give/ provide. These schools are mainly open to economically privileged students because of the required fees. Scholarship students constitute just a small part of these schools’ students. It is obvious that these schools create and reinforce inequality in society and should be abolished after some steps are taken.

  

One of the main arguments against abolishing private schools is that people have the right to freely make their choice of the school they will attend or they want their children to do so . Private schools provide a variety of options in that they can have different educational approaches and philosophies. They argue that this variety gives people the chance to choose the one that meshes best with their own understanding of education, and people should be free in spending their money for this school. However, this argument overlooks the fact that getting a good education is one of the essential rights of every human. This right should be independent of the money people are able to pay. It may be true that state schools are not as diverse as private schools in terms of their educational approaches and philosophy. The education they offer is more dependent on a standard curriculum which is usually compatible with the state’s interests and they may also be more closed to new methods in education. At this point, independent nongovernmental organizations should take part inefforts to force the government to change this situation and make an effort to make state schools as  diverse as private schools are.

 It is a fact that state schools are usually more inadequate  than private schools in terms of both their educational resources and facilities but this fact doesn’t mean private schools shouldn’t be abolished. Governments and other groups should take initiative to enhance the situation of state schools. After this process, private schools should be abolished because abolishing them will also help state schools to reach better standards in that it will put pressure on politicians to support state schools and force them to allocate more from the budget for these schools. 

  

  In conclusion, protecting people’s rights is why a government is founded and the right to education is one of those rights. Private schools are not solutions to existing problems in education and cause inequality to be reproduced. It is quite understandable that people with sufficient money want to get a better education; what we need to change is the situation of state schools and after some efforts, another step should be abolishing private schools.

                                                                                                      NEBİLE SENA BAŞAR

  

THE EFFECTS OF URBAN LIVING ON THE MIND

                                                

                Over the past 50 or 60 years, urbanization has brought significant changes to our lives. Yet there remains some disagreement as to whether the effects of urban living on the mind are favorable or unfavorable. It is an undeniable fact that urban living has disastrous effects on people’s mind and it  affects people adversely in the four corners of the world.

                In the first place, one point which is believed to be absolutely pivotal is the fact that urban living affects people’s mental health adversely. It is clear that the risk of developing anxiety and mood disorders are important points in this issue. Anxiety disorders pose a  higher risk with 21 percent and mood disorders pose  the highest risk with 39 percent. It is important to emphasize that living in a city roughly doubles the risk of schizophrenia. It can be said that there are a lot of reasons concerning the risks, one of the most important reasons is stressful life events: divorce, bereavement or a serious illness, besides, income, employment, and education affect mental health. According to research carried out by Dr. Andres Meyer-Lindenberg of the central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim in Germany, the city dwellers’ brains, don’t seem to handle stress so well, compared with people who live in the countryside.

                Similarly, when it comes to the second point, at the heart of the matter lies another contributing factor: urban living has disastrous effects on people’s brain health, especially the amygdala and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC). The amgydala is responsible for assessing threats and generating fear, on the other hand, the pACC is responsible for regulating the amygdala. According to research, in the city dwellers, the amygdalas appear more active and not to be the same smooth connection between the behavior of the two brain regions. In addition, there is a different point: Dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with many functions, one of which is to infuse the brain, besides, dopamine levels are very high in parts of schizophrenic people’s brain.

                All that has been said raises the issue of whether the effects of urban living on the mind are favorable or unfavorable. It is obvious that there are lots of harmful effects on people’s brain. The risk of anxiety and mood disorders, stress, the failure of the amygdala, pACC and dopamine levels can be listed as the detrimental effects on the minds of urban dwellers.

                                                                                             KUBİLAY ESER

TREES CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACHOTHER

     Trees can communicate with one another. Trees share water and nutrients through underground fungal networks and also use them to communicate. Trees are interdependent and cooperative when sharing their feelings about nature and the environment. There are some people who claim that we can understand and speak their language with some techniques.

     Forest trees have evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships, maintained by communication and a collective intelligence similar to an insect colony.  Their real action is taking place underground just a few inches below our feet. According to Ecologist Suzanne Simard, trees have a sophisticated and interconnected social network existing underground. In the forest, the tallest trees are hub tress. They have greater access to sunlight and through the process of photosynthesis. They need underground fungi to provide  sugar to survive, most of the fungi bodies are made out of a mass of threads called mycelium. Mycelium absorbs the excess sugar and it provides the tree with nutrients. Tress can communicate with each other via the mycelium.

    There is an important question about trees. Can we learn to speak their language? Yes, we can still keep trying to understand their language. Doctor Haskell says “Trees are biology’s philosophers, dialoguing over the ages and offering up a quiet wisdom. We should listen, they know what they are talking about.” So there are some techniques to communicate with trees. Firstly, place your hands on a tree or its roots and close your eyes and tune into its energy. Gaze upon the tree and simply observe it. Many times this will bring thoughts, questions and answers into our conscious awareness.

    When everything is taken into consideration, it’s quite easy to understand that trees can transfer information to eachother and we have the ability to understand these mechanisms. Trees speak to eachother in a language and we can listen to.

FIRAT AKKUŞ

THE PROS AND CONS OF DRIVERLESS CARS

Increasing advances in technology with each coming year have affected humanity in many ways. Driverless cars are also one of the major breakthroughs in science. On the other hand, they aren’t a recent invention. The concept was first introduced in the Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. General Motors offered an automated highway system which would guide driverless vehicles to their destination. Then, there were many remarkable developments regarding such cars. Some people are enthusiastic about these advances while some others refuse to use driverless cars owing to a variety of reasons. Thus, both advantages and disadvantages must be evaluated before taking further action.

Driverless cars have various undeniable downsides. To begin with, the human factor cannot be completely eliminated through existing technology. People must know how to operate the vehicle in emergency situations. Drivers should also know how to maintain such cars properly. Moreover, since computers reach a final decision, ethical issues are also thorny problems. There is no clear consensus as to what will happen if a driverless car going at full speed encounters an individual crossing the street. Should it run into this person or decide to take the vehicle off-road even if passengers will be injured? As for such cars’ operating system, we encounter another weighty matter. The operating systems are susceptible to hacking, and hence, security is a knotty problem. That means terrorists can access specific control mechanisms and thus program computers to carry out violent actions such as a vehicle attack. There is also a subtle point concerning this matter. As self-driving cars could collect so much personal information, marketers may use this information to create individualized advertising. How can that occur? When humans use a self-driving car, it’s computer stores information about the trip. Namely, all your private information such as the stores you prefer to visit, and the restaurants you like will be collected. This data would be a treasure trove of input for marketers if automobile manufacturers sold it to them. Similar to artificial intelligence, driverless cars may cause the loss of jobs. In other words, this technology would make people driving taxis or delivering food virtually obsolete. Since people who cannot drive a car would start to own a self-driving car, traffic jams would also increase sharply. Apart from the above mentioned points, there are numerous insurmountable problems: What will happen in the event of a collision? Who will be at fault and who will pay for the repairs? The car manufacturers or the drivers?

Even though it is frustrating to think about the drawbacks, we have to consider the advantages also. Because drivers display undesirable behaviour while travelling by car, self-driving cars will reduce the number of accidents. Many lives will be saved thanks to this. Some research ascertained that over 80% of automobile crashes spring from human error.  For this reason, insurance costs associated with damage will also markedly decrease. As computers are in more control, there may be fewer road rage incidents. Another upside  of driverless cars is that individuals with disabilities will have less dependence on the public transportation systems offering unpredictable schedules. These people won’t ask for the aid of others, which also means the handicapped will have greater mobility. Self-driving cars could work with higher speed limits since computers can calculate all the probabilities related to the safety of driving, a multitude of measures like speed limits on the  roads will be unnecessary. This also means that people might adress their other needs while the vehicle transports them to their destination. Driverless cars would reduce the amount of fuel as well. This is because such cars can avoid high traffic areas and places where there are severe weather conditions thanks to communicating with each other. Commute times will also be reduced because these cars will know where they can maximize speed to ensure the quickest possible commute. Moreover, the probability of missing an exit will be eliminated since this stems from human error. Lastly, self-driving cars could reduce the number of automobile thefts because biometric technologies can recognize fingerprints and faces; these are  used as our passwords for our devices and could also apply to self-driving cars. This means if someone else tries to use our car, it will refuse to start or immediately shut itself down.

In conclusion, driverless cars have positive and negative aspects. However, in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. It is a well known fact that 1.3 million people are killed worldwide every year owing to traffic accidents. Although the fact remains that we cannot know what the future holds, I am of the firm opinion that autonomous vehicles will eradicate all fatalities. Moreover, the handicapped will have a chance to be more active in social life.

                                                                                          CEM KOCA

GEOENGINEERING

                                                                             

               Over the past 50 or 60 years, global warming and climate change have brought significant changes to our lives. Global warming can be defined as the increase in average global temperature, on the other hand, climate change is accepted as the result of global warming, including droughts, heat waves, extreme weather events, etc. Yet there remains some disagreement as to whether geoengineering is a solution to counteract the harmful effects of global warming and climate change. It is claimed that geoengineering is complex and controversial, besides, requires negotiation and cooperation among governments, scientists, civil society, and the private sector. However, most people believe that geoengineering is the best solution to counteract the negative effects of global warming. Geoengineering is defined as the deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process that affects the earth’s climate, in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming.

                 To solve this situation, we begin by a closer look at the details of geoengineering. Geoengineering can be divided into broad categories: Carbon Dioxide Removal(CDR) and Solar Radiation Management(SRM). CDR consists of several interwoven terms and methods such as CO2 air capture, Afforestation/Reforestation, Ocean fertilization, avoiding deforestation, algae-coated buildings, and biochar. On the other hand, SRM includes several terms and steps like in the case of stratospheric aerosols, solar reflectors in space, enhanced surface brightness, roads-rooves-pavements, enhanced cloud brightness, and planting light-leaf species.

                In the first place, one point which is believed to be absolutely pivotal is the fact that geoengineering should be implemented to reduce global warming immediately because the world is warming, this much people know and how much it will warm in the following decades. There is a wide discussion in many parts of the world today as to this issue because it is an undeniable fact that global warming affects several factors adversely in the four corners of the world. It is obvious that global warming has done a lot of damage to; but not for people. That’s why techniques of geoengineering are not only good for people but also good for the animal kingdom due to the  direct impact on nature for example. In addition, it is important to emphasize that geoengineering is affordable and fast-acting and it requires less cooperation and altruism.

                When it comes to the second point, at the heart of the matter lies another contributing factor: geoengineering should be implemented to prevent a potential humanitarian crisis and due to human rights. It should not be forgotten that people have some rights such as the right to land, the right to self-determination, the right to life, and the right to a safe and healthy environment. If the harmful effects of global warming continue to increase, the environmental side effects will be irreversible and people will not be able to find  land and nutrition for eating. That is to say, they will not be able to fulfill their needs. Some African countries can be shown as the best instance of this, due to the fact that they suffer from droughts, starvation, lack of security and infectious diseases. In addition, due to these negative effects and insufficiencies, people will face a potential humanitarian crisis in the four corners of the world. According to research carried out by elite universities and scientists, Small Island Developing States(SIDS) will be seen in the coming decades like in Bangladesh. It is not wrong to say that it is not possible to live  because of the population density of SIDS. As a result of this, it is an undeniable fact that people will face a humanitarian crisis.

On the other hand, some people claim that geoengineering is complex and controversial, besides, requires negotiation and cooperation among governments, scientists, civil society, and the private sector. However, these claims are not acceptable because it is important to emphasize that the negative effects of global warming are expected to intensify in the following decade and the detrimental effects will affect the entire world. Therefore, people have to take precautions to prevent these negative effects of global warming and implement techniques of geoengineering.

All that has been said raises the issue of whether geoengineering is a solution to counteract the negative effects of global warming. Although some people claim that geoengineering is complex and controversial and has different requirements, it seems that geoengineering is the best solution to prevent the negative effects of global warming. Otherwise, these detrimental impacts are expected to intensify in the following decade. No matter what happens, nothing is more important than human life, so it should be given due importance and it should not be endangered. Geoengineering is an intervention in nature in some sense but it has a role to play in shaping the future and society. Nature is an indispensable factor for humanity due to the fact that as can be seen above, it is related to everything in the world.

KUBİLAY ESER

OVEREMPHASIS ON FORMAL EDUCATION

The modern world is a highly competitive place where millions join the race to the top each passing day. The struggle to succeed involves a lot of hardship and misery, which has caused the fear of the future to become ingrained in parents. This fear coupled with the desire to make the child’s path up the greasy pole as smooth as possible is leading modern parents to focus on schooling to the exclusion of all else. This tunnel vision parents are trapped in is highly detrimental, is doing untold damage and should be discouraged no matter what.

The gravity of the problem of excessive emphasis on formal education is best exemplified by the situation in South Korea. Here children go to school at the crack of dawn for a full day and then head off to ‘hogwons’, that is to say private courses, where they have to do tests and solve problems. They are not allowed to go to bed until they have managed to solve all the problems correctly. The result is that they often don’t get to bed until midnight. Such kids are known to have committed suicide.  That this attitude to raising children and preparing them for the future is akin to torture goes without saying. Not being able to see the damage done to the child’s physical and psychological development is inexcusable.

A child who studies to the exclusion of all else will miss out on a lot of socialization and thus the acquisition of numerous social skills which will also have an undeniable role to play in determining his future success. These social skills can only be learnt through interaction with others in a social setting not through interaction with tests. It is a wonder such children are still able to speak their native language as they don’t even get practice in that. The educational value of the unending battle with tests that continue into the night is also highly doubtful as most educators should know full well. Concentration levels will drop as exhaustion sets in and hunger takes its toll. Couple this with lack of restorative sleep, unhealthy eating habits and minimal physical activity over a long period of time and the child’s growth and development will be stunted.  This is not the whole story however; the damage done to the child’s mental well being also needs to be considered.

A child who is unable to escape the grip of formal schooling will inevitably suffer psychological problems. He may be plagued with lack of confidence as he stays up well into the night completing schoolwork. He may become shy and withdrawn as he has minimal contact with his peers. He may not grow to be street-wise due to insufficient contact with the outside world. He may suffer from fear of failure, be plagued by guilt and be prone to nightmares. Conversely, he may become an inhuman zombie in whom all the qualities that make him human have been suppressed. Parents need to think long and hard about the path they are taking when deciding on the best way to raise their children. The system they are bent on applying amounts to child abuse.

Some may say that a good education is the only way to get ahead in life but a quick look at college application criteria will show that grades are not the only thing being sought by good universities. Club activities, individual initiatives, hobbies and interests and the like are also required. Incorporating all these into the child’s life and providing a more rounded upbringing is more likely to lead to future success as well as good physical and mental health. Parents should wish their children to be successful and happy as well. What is the point of having all the wealth in the world when you can’t relax enough to enjoy it?

A child isn’t the latest type of software; he is a human being with human needs which should not be ignored. Raising a child involves addressing physical and psychological needs. It also involves providing a loving home environment and time with peers. Only focusing on cognitive development to the exclusion of all else will do untold damage to the child and should thus be categorized as a crime.

UNRELIABLE MEMORIES

     Our brain is considered a computer. It records data and data is kept by our brain without experiencing any changes. Actually, the brain stores memories that we think never change. When we remember something, our brain revives them. However, we may not always remember events like the first time. That's why, our memories are unreliable. There are some reasons why memories are not reliable.

      First of all, one of the main reasons for an unreliable memory is that when we want to recall our memories, we reconstruct the events. We are facing a lot of events every day. The new situations which we encounter cause us to reshape the events. In addition, our memories are affected by our present expectations and our current knowledge and thoughts. Thus, while we are remembering  the past events, we can mix the present and the past. Therefore, our memories can deceive us and they may be unreliable.

       Secondly, another reason for unreliable memories is that we usually suppress memories that are painful and damaging to our self-esteem. We have a tendency to remember pleasant memories because painful memories torment us when we revisit them. Therefore, we may not say that memories are completely true and reliable. Moreover, we are open to external factors such as false memories. We are open to believing in unexperienced events. For example, when a person says “a wild dog was chasing you in your childhood”, you believe the person who tells that story. That's to say, you can be misled. That's why, our memories are unreliable.

       All in all, our brain is not a machine which preserves the events and memories. Our brain keeps the memories in mind and each time we recall something, these memories come out changed. Our brain reconstructs them. Therefore, our memories are unreliable.

                                                                                                  Seher Çakmar