Questões

    Agronomy looks at agriculture from an integrated, holistic perspective. Agronomists are specialists in crop and soil science, as well as ecology. Some things they look at are:

Hanji

    Hanji is the name of the handmade paper produced in ancient Korea from the 1st century BCE. Made from mulberry trees, its exceptional quality made it a successful export, and it was widely used not only for writing but also for interior walls and everyday objects, such as fans and umbrellas. Hanji, famed throughout Asia for its whiteness, texture, and strength, is still made today in specialized Korean workshops.

   Initially Korean paper was made using hemp fiber, but the highest quality hanji was, for many centuries, made only from the pith of mulberry trees (tak in Korean, Latin: Broussonetia papyrifera). The toughness of hanji meant that it was ideally suited for use in printing presses that used blocks made from magnolia wood, which had been soaked and boiled in saltwater and then dried for several years before use. Each block was 24x4x64cm and carried 23 lines of vertical text on each side. These were then covered in ink and paper was pressed against them. The resilience of hanji was especially useful from the 12th century CE when printing was done using heavier moveable metal type made of bronze, a Korean invention.

    In the Joseon Period (from the 15th century CE), such was the demand for hanji, that Sejong the Great (r. 1418 - 1450 CE) permitted other plant materials to be used in its manufacture, especially bamboo. The paper was made in specialized workshops in the capital and the five provincial capitals. The hanji which was produced for state use was supervised by a government agency, the Chonjo-chang.

    Democrats' long-term hopes for electoral success have long cited the growing Latino population in the country. But former Vice President Joe Biden's performance in heavily Latino areas of key states has concerned members of his party — and may have cost him Electoral College votes, according to groups and activists working to mobilize Latino voters.

     Nationally, Biden appears to have gotten support from roughly twice as many Latino voters as President Trump, but that support looked very different depending on where you looked in three key states with large Latino populations.

     Democrats were pleased with their performance in Arizona, where The Associated Press awarded Biden the state's 11 electoral votes early Wednesday morning, while anxiety ran high about the results in Florida, where President Trump's strength with conservative Cuban American voters helped secure him that state's 29 electoral votes, according to AP. And while Texas was a long shot for Biden, Democrats had seen opportunity in the explosive growth in the state's Latino population.

     During a post-election virtual press conference on Wednesday, leaders from groups aimed at mobilizing Latino voters expressed frustration that the votes of Latinos were not more aggressively pursued, even as they cheered record levels of turnout among Latinos in some key states.

Internet: <www.npr.org> (adapted)

1.    My suggestions for changing the school environment are as follows: educate Teachers on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: In my educational career, the majority of the ableism I experienced didn’t come from other students, but teachers and other school authorities I believed were supposed to help me. I remember in my Sophomore year of high school, I emailed my English teacher to let her know I had ADHD. Her only reply was to drop the class; it was too hard for someone like me. Mind you, the school year hadn’t even started. I still took the class, and received quite high marks, but she would belittle my efforts consistently, chastising me from everything to my discussion points being “wrong” to my handwriting. Thank God for my high school’s strictness about fair grading. Secondly, educating teachers about neurodivergencies would help them with classroom and coursework planning, as well as help them to better understand disabled students.

2.     Make Classrooms More Comfortable: Cramped, uncomfortable classrooms are no good for all students, thus we need to get rid of the desk-chair model, and provide students with larger desks that have unconnected chairs, as well as space out desks. Though this is a reach, lecture halls needs to be completely redesigned to space students out (which is also helpful to prevent the spread of COVID!) and allow them greater desk space, as well as leg space! Another issue is lighting, with many classrooms lit by bright, irritating industrial lights. All classrooms should have windows, or at least less abrasive lighting, in order to combat seasonal mental illnesses, and make the classroom appear more “open” than cramped. The spaces between desks should also be accessible, to prevent others from tripping, and for students with mobility issues to access the entire classroom.

3.     Classroom Rules: It was always embarrassing for me when I had to ask for the bathroom, especially when a teacher denied my request. These rules are generally ridiculous, especially for younger children, who often are barely potty-trained. Neurodivergent children, especially those with autism, often have gastrointestinal disorders as a result of their disabilities. Some neurodivergent children simply can’t hold it either, as often times our basic needs are only sensed by us when they’re demandingly present. Asking to go to the bathroom is frankly antiquated and only hurts the student, a child shouldn’t need permission to complete such a necessary task. Another issue is that neurodivergent students are often prohibited from engaging in focus-strategies, such as doodling or using fidget toys. Both of these are proven to help maintain a neurodivergent person’s focus and help them relax. Making sweeping generalization about if the student is listening or not is simply unfair to the student, as this doubts their ability.

4.    Class Structure: Many classes are just based upon listening to the teacher/professor, with little stress placed on applying the learned material within the classroom. Therefore, lessons should be much more dynamic, whether that be through inclusive, smaller-group discussions, or via hands-on activities. Just reading notes off of slides doesn’t cut it for most students anyways, so a more dynamic model of teaching is absolutely necessary! Teachers should also assign course-long classroom groups in larger classroom environments, which helps neurodivergent students initiate connects with their peers, and be able to seek help out easier, especially if these groups have TA leaders, which help coordinate the groups. 

5. Overall, the standardized learning environment that’s currently in place in most schools and universities totally excludes the needs of neurodivergent learners, and the need to be changed in order to benefit both disabled students and the student body as a whole.

Spring, E. (2022, March 17). The problems with the classroom environment.

Retrieved from

https://sites.psu.edu/emmaspring/2022/03/17/the-problems-with-the-classroom environment/.