Period 2 Blog #17

Your comment post should be at least 370 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Student Question | What’s Your Dream Job?

By MICHAEL GONCHAR  MARCH 10, 2016 5:00 AM March 10, 2016 5:00 am 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Has your dream job changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you already started investing time and effort to try to make it happen?

In “The New Dream Jobs,” Jenna Wortham writes:

When the National Society of High School Scholars asked 18,000 Americans, ages 15 to 29, to rank their ideal future employers, the results were curious. To nobody’s surprise, Google, Apple and Facebook appeared high on the list, but so did the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency. The Build-A-Bear Workshop was No. 50, just a few spots behind Lockheed Martin and JPMorgan Chase. (The New York Times came in at No. 16.)

However scattershot, the survey offers a glimpse into the ambitions of the millennial generation, which already makes up more than a third of the work force. By 2020, it will make up half. Survey after survey shows that millennials want to work for companies that place a premium on employee welfare, offer flexible scheduling and, above all, bestow a sense of purpose. These priorities are well known and frequently mocked, providing grist for the oft-repeated claim that millennials are lazy, entitled job-hoppers.

But it’s important to remember that this generation was shaped by a recession, an unprecedented crush of student debt and a broad decline in the credibility of all kinds of institutions. Stability is an abstract concept to these young workers, so they instead tend to focus on creating a rich, textured life now, rather than planning for a future obscured by uncertainty.

Students: Read the entire article, then answer the questions below:

— What’s your dream job? Why do you want that job? Do you think you’re well suited for it?

— What qualities are most important to you in your future career? Salary? A sense of purpose? Scheduling flexibility? Feeling challenged? Feeling appreciated? The ability to get ahead? Liking what you do or being good at your job? Anything else?

— What investments are you willing to make now to help you get your dream job eventually?

— What companies would you want to work for? Are you surprised by the National Society of High School Scholars survey rankings? Why?

Period 3 Blog #17

Your comment post should be at least 370 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Student Question | What’s Your Dream Job?

By MICHAEL GONCHAR  MARCH 10, 2016 5:00 AM March 10, 2016 5:00 am 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Has your dream job changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you already started investing time and effort to try to make it happen?

In “The New Dream Jobs,” Jenna Wortham writes:

When the National Society of High School Scholars asked 18,000 Americans, ages 15 to 29, to rank their ideal future employers, the results were curious. To nobody’s surprise, Google, Apple and Facebook appeared high on the list, but so did the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency. The Build-A-Bear Workshop was No. 50, just a few spots behind Lockheed Martin and JPMorgan Chase. (The New York Times came in at No. 16.)

However scattershot, the survey offers a glimpse into the ambitions of the millennial generation, which already makes up more than a third of the work force. By 2020, it will make up half. Survey after survey shows that millennials want to work for companies that place a premium on employee welfare, offer flexible scheduling and, above all, bestow a sense of purpose. These priorities are well known and frequently mocked, providing grist for the oft-repeated claim that millennials are lazy, entitled job-hoppers.

But it’s important to remember that this generation was shaped by a recession, an unprecedented crush of student debt and a broad decline in the credibility of all kinds of institutions. Stability is an abstract concept to these young workers, so they instead tend to focus on creating a rich, textured life now, rather than planning for a future obscured by uncertainty.

Students: Read the entire article, then answer the questions below:

— What’s your dream job? Why do you want that job? Do you think you’re well suited for it?

— What qualities are most important to you in your future career? Salary? A sense of purpose? Scheduling flexibility? Feeling challenged? Feeling appreciated? The ability to get ahead? Liking what you do or being good at your job? Anything else?

— What investments are you willing to make now to help you get your dream job eventually?

— What companies would you want to work for? Are you surprised by the National Society of High School Scholars survey rankings? Why?

Period 9/10 Blog #17

Your comment post should be at least 370 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Student Question | What’s Your Dream Job?

By MICHAEL GONCHAR  MARCH 10, 2016 5:00 AM March 10, 2016 5:00 am 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Has your dream job changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you already started investing time and effort to try to make it happen?

In “The New Dream Jobs,” Jenna Wortham writes:

When the National Society of High School Scholars asked 18,000 Americans, ages 15 to 29, to rank their ideal future employers, the results were curious. To nobody’s surprise, Google, Apple and Facebook appeared high on the list, but so did the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency. The Build-A-Bear Workshop was No. 50, just a few spots behind Lockheed Martin and JPMorgan Chase. (The New York Times came in at No. 16.)

However scattershot, the survey offers a glimpse into the ambitions of the millennial generation, which already makes up more than a third of the work force. By 2020, it will make up half. Survey after survey shows that millennials want to work for companies that place a premium on employee welfare, offer flexible scheduling and, above all, bestow a sense of purpose. These priorities are well known and frequently mocked, providing grist for the oft-repeated claim that millennials are lazy, entitled job-hoppers.

But it’s important to remember that this generation was shaped by a recession, an unprecedented crush of student debt and a broad decline in the credibility of all kinds of institutions. Stability is an abstract concept to these young workers, so they instead tend to focus on creating a rich, textured life now, rather than planning for a future obscured by uncertainty.

Students: Read the entire article, then answer the questions below:

— What’s your dream job? Why do you want that job? Do you think you’re well suited for it?

— What qualities are most important to you in your future career? Salary? A sense of purpose? Scheduling flexibility? Feeling challenged? Feeling appreciated? The ability to get ahead? Liking what you do or being good at your job? Anything else?

— What investments are you willing to make now to help you get your dream job eventually?

— What companies would you want to work for? Are you surprised by the National Society of High School Scholars survey rankings? Why?

Period 2 Blog #16

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

 FEBRUARY 24, 2016 5:08 AM February 24, 2016 5:08 am 

Are social media like Facebook turning us into narcissists?  The Times online feature Room for Debate invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss questions like this one as well as news events and other timely issues. Related ArticleCredit Dado Ruvic/Reuters

.

Do you spend too much time trying to be attractive and interesting to others? Are you just a little too in love with your own Instagram feed?

An essay addressing those questions was chosen by two of our Student Councilmembers this week. Angie Shen explains why she thinks it’s important:

As the generation who grew up with social media, a reflection on narcissism is of critical importance to teenagers. What are the psychological and ethical implications of constant engagement with or obsession over social media? How does it change our relationship with others and how we see ourselves?

“Narcissism Is Increasing. So You’re Not So Special.” begins:

My teenage son recently informed me that there is an Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism. His friend had just taken it. “How did it turn out?” I asked. “He says he did great!” my son responded. “He got the maximum score!”

When I was a child, no one outside the mental health profession talked about narcissism; people were more concerned with inadequate self-esteem, which at the time was believed to lurk behind nearly every difficulty. Like so many excesses of the 1970s, the self-love cult spun out of control and is now rampaging through our culture like Godzilla through Tokyo.

A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that the percentage of college students exhibiting narcissistic personality traits, based on their scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a widely used diagnostic test, has increased by more than half since the early 1980s, to 30 percent. In their book “Narcissism Epidemic,” the psychology professors Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell show that narcissism has increased as quickly as obesity has since the 1980s. Even our egos are getting fat.

It has even infected our political debate. Donald Trump? “Remarkably narcissistic,” the developmental psychologist Howard Gardner told Vanity Fair magazine. I can’t say whether Mr. Trump is or isn’t a narcissist. But I do dispute the assertion that if he is, it is somehow remarkable.

This is a costly problem. While full-blown narcissists often report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc and misery around them. There is overwhelming evidence linking narcissism with lower honesty and raised aggression. It’s notable for Valentine’s Day that narcissists struggle to stay committed to romantic partners, in no small part because they consider themselves superior.

The full-blown narcissist might reply, “So what?” But narcissism isn’t an either-or characteristic. It’s more of a set of progressive symptoms (like alcoholism) than an identifiable state (like diabetes). Millions of Americans exhibit symptoms, but still have a conscience and a hunger for moral improvement. At the very least, they really don’t want to be terrible people.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us …

— Do you recognize yourself or your friends or family in any of the descriptions in this article? Are you sometimes too fixated on collecting “likes” and thinking about how others see you?

— What’s the line between “healthy self-love” that “requires being fully alive at this moment, as opposed to being virtually alive while wondering what others think,” and unhealthy narcissism? How can you stay on the healthy side of the line?

— Did you take the test? What did it tell you about yourself?

Henry Xu, another Student Council member who recommended this article, suggests these questions:

— What about Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media feeds makes them so hard to put down?

— Do you think this writer’s proposal of a “social media fast” is a viable way to combat narcissism?

— For those who aren’t as attached to social media, do challenges from an overinflated sense of self still arise? If so, from where?

— If everyone is becoming more narcissistic, does that make narcissism necessarily a bad thing?

Period 3 Blog #16

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

 FEBRUARY 24, 2016 5:08 AM February 24, 2016 5:08 am 

Are social media like Facebook turning us into narcissists?  The Times online feature Room for Debate invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss questions like this one as well as news events and other timely issues. Related ArticleCredit Dado Ruvic/Reuters

.

Do you spend too much time trying to be attractive and interesting to others? Are you just a little too in love with your own Instagram feed?

An essay addressing those questions was chosen by two of our Student Councilmembers this week. Angie Shen explains why she thinks it’s important:

As the generation who grew up with social media, a reflection on narcissism is of critical importance to teenagers. What are the psychological and ethical implications of constant engagement with or obsession over social media? How does it change our relationship with others and how we see ourselves?

“Narcissism Is Increasing. So You’re Not So Special.” begins:

My teenage son recently informed me that there is an Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism. His friend had just taken it. “How did it turn out?” I asked. “He says he did great!” my son responded. “He got the maximum score!”

When I was a child, no one outside the mental health profession talked about narcissism; people were more concerned with inadequate self-esteem, which at the time was believed to lurk behind nearly every difficulty. Like so many excesses of the 1970s, the self-love cult spun out of control and is now rampaging through our culture like Godzilla through Tokyo.

A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that the percentage of college students exhibiting narcissistic personality traits, based on their scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a widely used diagnostic test, has increased by more than half since the early 1980s, to 30 percent. In their book “Narcissism Epidemic,” the psychology professors Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell show that narcissism has increased as quickly as obesity has since the 1980s. Even our egos are getting fat.

It has even infected our political debate. Donald Trump? “Remarkably narcissistic,” the developmental psychologist Howard Gardner told Vanity Fair magazine. I can’t say whether Mr. Trump is or isn’t a narcissist. But I do dispute the assertion that if he is, it is somehow remarkable.

This is a costly problem. While full-blown narcissists often report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc and misery around them. There is overwhelming evidence linking narcissism with lower honesty and raised aggression. It’s notable for Valentine’s Day that narcissists struggle to stay committed to romantic partners, in no small part because they consider themselves superior.

The full-blown narcissist might reply, “So what?” But narcissism isn’t an either-or characteristic. It’s more of a set of progressive symptoms (like alcoholism) than an identifiable state (like diabetes). Millions of Americans exhibit symptoms, but still have a conscience and a hunger for moral improvement. At the very least, they really don’t want to be terrible people.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us …

— Do you recognize yourself or your friends or family in any of the descriptions in this article? Are you sometimes too fixated on collecting “likes” and thinking about how others see you?

— What’s the line between “healthy self-love” that “requires being fully alive at this moment, as opposed to being virtually alive while wondering what others think,” and unhealthy narcissism? How can you stay on the healthy side of the line?

— Did you take the test? What did it tell you about yourself?

Henry Xu, another Student Council member who recommended this article, suggests these questions:

— What about Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media feeds makes them so hard to put down?

— Do you think this writer’s proposal of a “social media fast” is a viable way to combat narcissism?

— For those who aren’t as attached to social media, do challenges from an overinflated sense of self still arise? If so, from where?

— If everyone is becoming more narcissistic, does that make narcissism necessarily a bad thing?

Period 9/10 Blog #16

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?

By KATHERINE SCHULTEN

 FEBRUARY 24, 2016 5:08 AM February 24, 2016 5:08 am 

Are social media like Facebook turning us into narcissists?  The Times online feature Room for Debate invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss questions like this one as well as news events and other timely issues. Related ArticleCredit Dado Ruvic/Reuters

.

Do you spend too much time trying to be attractive and interesting to others? Are you just a little too in love with your own Instagram feed?

An essay addressing those questions was chosen by two of our Student Councilmembers this week. Angie Shen explains why she thinks it’s important:

As the generation who grew up with social media, a reflection on narcissism is of critical importance to teenagers. What are the psychological and ethical implications of constant engagement with or obsession over social media? How does it change our relationship with others and how we see ourselves?

“Narcissism Is Increasing. So You’re Not So Special.” begins:

My teenage son recently informed me that there is an Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism. His friend had just taken it. “How did it turn out?” I asked. “He says he did great!” my son responded. “He got the maximum score!”

When I was a child, no one outside the mental health profession talked about narcissism; people were more concerned with inadequate self-esteem, which at the time was believed to lurk behind nearly every difficulty. Like so many excesses of the 1970s, the self-love cult spun out of control and is now rampaging through our culture like Godzilla through Tokyo.

A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that the percentage of college students exhibiting narcissistic personality traits, based on their scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a widely used diagnostic test, has increased by more than half since the early 1980s, to 30 percent. In their book “Narcissism Epidemic,” the psychology professors Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell show that narcissism has increased as quickly as obesity has since the 1980s. Even our egos are getting fat.

It has even infected our political debate. Donald Trump? “Remarkably narcissistic,” the developmental psychologist Howard Gardner told Vanity Fair magazine. I can’t say whether Mr. Trump is or isn’t a narcissist. But I do dispute the assertion that if he is, it is somehow remarkable.

This is a costly problem. While full-blown narcissists often report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc and misery around them. There is overwhelming evidence linking narcissism with lower honesty and raised aggression. It’s notable for Valentine’s Day that narcissists struggle to stay committed to romantic partners, in no small part because they consider themselves superior.

The full-blown narcissist might reply, “So what?” But narcissism isn’t an either-or characteristic. It’s more of a set of progressive symptoms (like alcoholism) than an identifiable state (like diabetes). Millions of Americans exhibit symptoms, but still have a conscience and a hunger for moral improvement. At the very least, they really don’t want to be terrible people.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us …

— Do you recognize yourself or your friends or family in any of the descriptions in this article? Are you sometimes too fixated on collecting “likes” and thinking about how others see you?

— What’s the line between “healthy self-love” that “requires being fully alive at this moment, as opposed to being virtually alive while wondering what others think,” and unhealthy narcissism? How can you stay on the healthy side of the line?

— Did you take the test? What did it tell you about yourself?

Henry Xu, another Student Council member who recommended this article, suggests these questions:

— What about Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media feeds makes them so hard to put down?

— Do you think this writer’s proposal of a “social media fast” is a viable way to combat narcissism?

— For those who aren’t as attached to social media, do challenges from an overinflated sense of self still arise? If so, from where?

— If everyone is becoming more narcissistic, does that make narcissism necessarily a bad thing?

Period 2 Blog #15

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

States are finally backing away from the draconian sentencing policies that swept the country at the end of the last century, driving up prison costs and sending too many people to jail for too long, often for nonviolent offenses. Many are now trying to turn around the prison juggernaut by steering drug addicts into treatment instead of jail and retooling parole systems that once sent people back to prison for technical violations.

But the most effective way to keep people out of prison once they leave is to give them jobs skills that make them marketable employees. That, in turn, means restarting prison education programs that were shuttered beginning in the 1990s, when federal and state legislators cut funding to show how tough they were on crime.

President Obama pointed the country in the right direction last year by creating a pilot program that will allow a limited number of inmates to receive federal Pell Grants to take college courses behind bars. The program will include colleges that either run prison education programs or want to start them. So far, more than 200 schools in 47 states have expressed interest.

Alex Schwartz, one of our Student Council members, agrees with the Times editorial:

The editorial board makes a very compelling case for investing in a solid higher education system for prisoners. It made me think about the roles of inmates in society once they are released from prison, and how we should really be considering that when looking at criminal justice reform. It’s not just about improving inmates’ experiences in prison; it’s making sure that they’re on their feet once they’re released.

But, not everyone supports this line of thinking. In 2014, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a proposal that would have set aside $1 million in a state corrections budget of $2.8 billion to finance college education programs behind bars in New York, a vocal opposition scuttled the idea. Here is what The Times reported then:

In Albany, lawmakers started petitions to collect signatures from constituents who oppose the idea, including one with the title “Hell No to Attica University.” The State Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and a group of independent Democrats, included in its draft of the budget a provision that forbade the use of state money to pay for college degree programs in prisons unless inmates pay the full tuition.

The idea provoked outrage in Washington: Three Republican congressmen from upstate New York introduced what they called the Kids Before Cons Act, which would prevent federal money from being used to pay for college classes for federal or state prison inmates.

The proposal also gave fodder to Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who is campaigning to unseat Mr. Cuomo in November. During a recent visit to Buffalo, Mr. Astorino, a Republican, spoke about how he and his wife were saving to pay for their children to go to college. “Maybe our 10-year-old son, we should sit him down and explain how to rob a bank,” Mr. Astorino said.

Students: Read both articles, then answer the questions below:

— What do you think? Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

— Does providing prisoners with the chance to take college courses in prison help them get a leg up when they are released? Does it help prevent inmates from landing back in jail later on?

— Do you trust the research, cited in the editorial, that shows money spent on prison education actually saves the government money in the long run because prisoners are less likely to get wrapped up in the criminal justice system again?

— Or do you think any money spent on prison education programs takes away from money that could be spent on education for law-abiding citizens?

— Do you agree with Mr. Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who argued that investing money in prison education sends the wrong message to hard-working families? Why?

Period 3 Blog #15

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

States are finally backing away from the draconian sentencing policies that swept the country at the end of the last century, driving up prison costs and sending too many people to jail for too long, often for nonviolent offenses. Many are now trying to turn around the prison juggernaut by steering drug addicts into treatment instead of jail and retooling parole systems that once sent people back to prison for technical violations.

But the most effective way to keep people out of prison once they leave is to give them jobs skills that make them marketable employees. That, in turn, means restarting prison education programs that were shuttered beginning in the 1990s, when federal and state legislators cut funding to show how tough they were on crime.

President Obama pointed the country in the right direction last year by creating a pilot program that will allow a limited number of inmates to receive federal Pell Grants to take college courses behind bars. The program will include colleges that either run prison education programs or want to start them. So far, more than 200 schools in 47 states have expressed interest.

Alex Schwartz, one of our Student Council members, agrees with the Times editorial:

The editorial board makes a very compelling case for investing in a solid higher education system for prisoners. It made me think about the roles of inmates in society once they are released from prison, and how we should really be considering that when looking at criminal justice reform. It’s not just about improving inmates’ experiences in prison; it’s making sure that they’re on their feet once they’re released.

But, not everyone supports this line of thinking. In 2014, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a proposal that would have set aside $1 million in a state corrections budget of $2.8 billion to finance college education programs behind bars in New York, a vocal opposition scuttled the idea. Here is what The Times reported then:

In Albany, lawmakers started petitions to collect signatures from constituents who oppose the idea, including one with the title “Hell No to Attica University.” The State Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and a group of independent Democrats, included in its draft of the budget a provision that forbade the use of state money to pay for college degree programs in prisons unless inmates pay the full tuition.

The idea provoked outrage in Washington: Three Republican congressmen from upstate New York introduced what they called the Kids Before Cons Act, which would prevent federal money from being used to pay for college classes for federal or state prison inmates.

The proposal also gave fodder to Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who is campaigning to unseat Mr. Cuomo in November. During a recent visit to Buffalo, Mr. Astorino, a Republican, spoke about how he and his wife were saving to pay for their children to go to college. “Maybe our 10-year-old son, we should sit him down and explain how to rob a bank,” Mr. Astorino said.

Students: Read both articles, then answer the questions below:

— What do you think? Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

— Does providing prisoners with the chance to take college courses in prison help them get a leg up when they are released? Does it help prevent inmates from landing back in jail later on?

— Do you trust the research, cited in the editorial, that shows money spent on prison education actually saves the government money in the long run because prisoners are less likely to get wrapped up in the criminal justice system again?

— Or do you think any money spent on prison education programs takes away from money that could be spent on education for law-abiding citizens?

— Do you agree with Mr. Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who argued that investing money in prison education sends the wrong message to hard-working families? Why?

Period 9/10 Blog #15

Your comment post should be at least 350 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).

Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

States are finally backing away from the draconian sentencing policies that swept the country at the end of the last century, driving up prison costs and sending too many people to jail for too long, often for nonviolent offenses. Many are now trying to turn around the prison juggernaut by steering drug addicts into treatment instead of jail and retooling parole systems that once sent people back to prison for technical violations.

But the most effective way to keep people out of prison once they leave is to give them jobs skills that make them marketable employees. That, in turn, means restarting prison education programs that were shuttered beginning in the 1990s, when federal and state legislators cut funding to show how tough they were on crime.

President Obama pointed the country in the right direction last year by creating a pilot program that will allow a limited number of inmates to receive federal Pell Grants to take college courses behind bars. The program will include colleges that either run prison education programs or want to start them. So far, more than 200 schools in 47 states have expressed interest.

Alex Schwartz, one of our Student Council members, agrees with the Times editorial:

The editorial board makes a very compelling case for investing in a solid higher education system for prisoners. It made me think about the roles of inmates in society once they are released from prison, and how we should really be considering that when looking at criminal justice reform. It’s not just about improving inmates’ experiences in prison; it’s making sure that they’re on their feet once they’re released.

But, not everyone supports this line of thinking. In 2014, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a proposal that would have set aside $1 million in a state corrections budget of $2.8 billion to finance college education programs behind bars in New York, a vocal opposition scuttled the idea. Here is what The Times reported then:

In Albany, lawmakers started petitions to collect signatures from constituents who oppose the idea, including one with the title “Hell No to Attica University.” The State Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and a group of independent Democrats, included in its draft of the budget a provision that forbade the use of state money to pay for college degree programs in prisons unless inmates pay the full tuition.

The idea provoked outrage in Washington: Three Republican congressmen from upstate New York introduced what they called the Kids Before Cons Act, which would prevent federal money from being used to pay for college classes for federal or state prison inmates.

The proposal also gave fodder to Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who is campaigning to unseat Mr. Cuomo in November. During a recent visit to Buffalo, Mr. Astorino, a Republican, spoke about how he and his wife were saving to pay for their children to go to college. “Maybe our 10-year-old son, we should sit him down and explain how to rob a bank,” Mr. Astorino said.

Students: Read both articles, then answer the questions below:

— What do you think? Should prisoners be given the opportunity to get an education?

— Does providing prisoners with the chance to take college courses in prison help them get a leg up when they are released? Does it help prevent inmates from landing back in jail later on?

— Do you trust the research, cited in the editorial, that shows money spent on prison education actually saves the government money in the long run because prisoners are less likely to get wrapped up in the criminal justice system again?

— Or do you think any money spent on prison education programs takes away from money that could be spent on education for law-abiding citizens?

— Do you agree with Mr. Astorino, the Westchester County executive, who argued that investing money in prison education sends the wrong message to hard-working families? Why?