Author - John Coyne

  August 14, 2017 A volunteer explains — with poetry — why teaching physics to girls in Guinea, west Africa is so important to her By Lisa Einstein (Guinea 2016-18) This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American  . . .    I sat on the porch in my village of farms, When a young girl approached me, a babe in her arms. We started to talk, though a lot went unspoken. Her words were Pular and her French, it was broken. I asked her what grade she was in and she scoffed. “Failed the Brevet so dad married me off. The class all must pass this exam to continue To high school. I didn’t, in take 1 or take 2. Mon mari, il est vieux, an old man I don’t see. And now with this child? . . .

  According to Foreign Policy Magazine    Newswise — Washington, D.C. (July 30, 2024) – American University’s (AU) School of International Service (SIS) was identified in the top-tier of international relations programs around the world at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels by Foreign Policy magazine. The SIS masters and undergraduate programs both rank in the top 10, with the master’s program placing eighth and the undergraduate program also ranking eighth, up one spot from previous rankings. In their first published rankings since 2018, Foreign Policy added two additional sets of rankings in each category, one by policymakers and the other from think tank staff. SIS’s undergraduate program ranks 10th amongst policymakers and 11th amongst think tank staff. SIS’s master’s program ranks 10th amongst policymakers and 12th amongst think tank staff. “We’re proud of this recognition,” said SIS dean Shannon Hader, MD, MPH. “It speaks to our success in educating global leaders who will engage with . . .

    Polls suggest young Americans are less enchanted with their country than previous generations. Yet even those who want to serve their country, conducting some form of national service, are too often turned away by top programs. The opposite should be true: Volunteer organizations such as AmeriCorps, Teach for America, the Peace Corps and the newly formed American Climate Corps should be well-funded and encouraged. National service could become a pervasive post-graduation option that all young Americans consider. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this year proposed a national service plan that would have granted young adults the option of enrolling in a year-long military training program or committing to civil service one weekend every month for the same amount of time. The proposal was highly unpopular, with Brits balking at what they saw as the effective conscription of their nation’s youths. The idea has more support here in the . . .

  Recovery by Vincent Spine (Peru 1966-69) Independently Published June 2024 141 pages $11.00 (Paperback)   Unlike most poets, who can be either primarily narrativists or lyrical luminaries, Vincent Spina can be both and more. Think of Wallace Stevens but more human; think of John. Ashbury’s pyrotechnics and add a rich heart. Throw in a combination of cultural soulfulness and environmental sensitivity, all somehow shaped by his profound wisdom of how the human drama is interwoven by both. Now add Spina’s absorption of Quichua and Latin American culture — and we have an approximation of Vincent Spina’s singularity as an American poet. But it is in the poems, ultimately, where Spina plunges in like a diver with his cargo of poetic resources and resurfaces with bits of scintillating jewels, elevating us, his fellow-travelers, to the ultimate of communions: poet to reader, human to human.  . . .  Meet Vincent Spina by Lynn . . .