Seven to 10 years to completed a doctoral in education!

Recently, I worked on the studies of non-traditional students who returned to graduate school. Precisely, the teaching professionals at one of the stat university in the Midwestern. Astonishinlgy, I discovered that over 50% of them completed the doctoral degree between 7 to 10 years! here are some of the statistics from the office of graduate Studies:

Areas of study and percentages -
Curriculum and teaching: 38.5% in 5 years; 59.6% in 7 years; 86.5% in 10 years.
Educational leadership & policy studies: 50% in 5 years; 83.3 in 7 years; 100% in 10 years.
Special education: 33.3%; 69.7 in 7 years; 90.9% in 10 years.
School psychology: 0% in 5 years; 20.0% in 7 years; 40% in 10 years.

A Mother's love

I finished this book in one day - Chang, Ying-Ying, The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Chang Before and Beyond the Rape of Nanking.

Iris Chang was bright and talent writer - a journalist and a historian. She was only 36 when she died. This book is written by her mother, recapturing the young writer's life from her young age to the day she departed from the world. As I read and flip the pages, I can feel the pain and the love of her mother's heart.

Highly recommended.

I am disappointed - Book titled, A heart for freedom

This book is written by the former Chinese student movement leader in 1989 Tiananmen Square, Chai Ling.  I cannot deny that she had an extraordinary role during the Chinese student movement twenty years ago. The fact is that it is hard to ignore the fact that she is doing well and have a full life in the US while her fellow classmates paid the price. Many students were either imprisoned for years or lost legs - I read the chapter she described a fellow student who lost his legs when the military tank ran over his body during the uprising. It seems to me that the leaders were able to flee and have a relatively normal life while the majority of students who participated in the movements paid for the consequence.

My thought go to the parents of the students who participated in the uprising and lost their lives. After twenty something years to raise the kids and put them in the university, hoping they will have a full life ahead. Unfortunately, lives were suddenly cut short. I am so sorry for their lost.

I am speechless.I have an impression that she wrote this book with an aim to justify what she did twenty years ago. I also read the lawsuit between her company and Harvard, the remark she made (bloodshed) during the movement. That makes me sick in the stomach.