Peace Corps: what you can do; President Kennedy enlisted youthful idealism in a global volunteer effort, a mission that President Bush is reviving. (times past).IT WAS NEARLY 2 A.M. ON OCT OCT ornithine carbamoyltransferase; oxytocin challenge test. OCT ornithine carbamoyl transferase, a liver specific enzyme. OCT Oxytocin stress test, see there . 14, 1960, AND SEN. JOHN F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in desperately wanted some sleep. After a grueling day of campaigning for President, he planned to spend a quiet night at the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. . To his surprise, though, a crowd of 10,000 cheering students greeted his motorcade. The exhausted Kennedy gave a brief, unprepared speech, asking who among the students would volunteer part of their lives to serve overseas for the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana? ... I think Americans are willing to contribute, but the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past. His notion was a hit with the students. Kennedy famously restated the idea in his inaugural address, on Jan. 20, 1961: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." The day after he became President, Kennedy ordered a task force to take the first steps in creating the Peace Corps, which has since sent more than 165,000 volunteers to help in 135 countries. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush has renewed the call to harness the idealism and energy of youth in the interest of world peace. In his State of the Union address “State of the Union” redirects here. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation). The State of the Union is an annual address in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of Congress (the , Bush outlined plans to double the size of the Peace Corps to 15,000 active members, and to combine it with other volunteer agencies under a new umbrella, the USA Freedom Corps The USA Freedom Corps is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the President serving as its chair. Its creation was announced by George W. . ENLISTING FOR PEACE Though Kennedy did not invent the Peace Corps--the idea had been kicking around in Congress--as President he became its champion. He created it by executive order on March 1, 1961, stating that the corps was a way to assist other countries with America's skilled manpower in "the great common cause of world development." Kennedy chose his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (born November 9 1915) is an American Democratic politician and activist. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the Kennedy family, the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic Party's 1972 vice , for the daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task of building the Peace Corps from scratch. Shriver shrive v. shrove or shrived, shriv·en or shrived, shriv·ing, shrives v.tr. 1. To hear the confession of and give absolution to (a penitent). 2. saw right away that life in the corps would be tough: I would imagine that no Americans in modern times will have been asked to do harder work. It's going to be work carried on in the underdeveloped part of the world, under difficult living conditions living conditions npl → condiciones fpl de vida living conditions npl → conditions fpl de vie living conditions living , different diet, different culture, different language, sometimes in remote places. I would suggest that anybody who anticipates a joy ride get off the train right now. Yet thousands of hopeful volunteers--mostly college students who met the 18-or-older age requirement--were eager to apply for two-year assignments. Still, others felt sure the corps would fail. One Arizona congressman feared Communist spies would infiltrate it. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower called it a "juvenile experiment." THE WORK BEGINS By the end of 1961, about 500 volunteers had fanned out to nine foreign countries. The primary focus was on education--teaching people how to read and write, as well as promoting effective farming techniques, and better health care. The first volunteers were given a few weeks of cultural and language training, and were paid a stipend that varied. In Nigeria, for instance, they received about $168 a month, or what a college-educated teacher made there. Many in the Peace Corps discovered that their work paid off. Karen Clough, who served in the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. from 1963 to 1965, helped educate parents there about the parasites swelling their children's stomachs: I gave some parasite medicine to the mother of the child with the biggest belly I could find, and I told her that I wanted that parasite when it came out. She thought I was nuts, but she brought over the worm, which was at least a foot long. I put it in a jar of formalin formalin /for·ma·lin/ (for´mah-lin) formaldehyde solution. for·ma·lin n. An aqueous solution of formaldehyde that is 37 percent by weight. and hauled it around to show people. It was a very successful campaign. But, as Shriver predicted, Peace Corps volunteers faced many difficulties. Some complained of bad food, nonexistent non·ex·is·tence n. 1. The condition of not existing. 2. Something that does not exist. non housing, voracious insects, brutal weather, and hostile hosts. Others found themselves in the middle of wars, revolutions, and anti-American violence. About 20 volunteers have been killed since the inception of the corps. One problem that still plagues the Peace Corps is that some volunteers saw their work as meaningless. Margot Jones, in Ecuador from 1965 to 1967, worked at a community center where the local people demanded to be taught about, of all things, cake decorating Cake decorating is one of the sugar arts that uses icing and other edible decorative elements to transform otherwise plain cakes into colorful and festive works of art. Cakes come in all shapes and sizes from ordinary single layer sheet cakes to towering multi-tiered wedding cakes. : I looked at my life in this community center and realized this was it for two years: collecting dues for cake-decorating classes. The notion that any kind of social change can occur through the efforts of naive, well-intentioned American college American College is the name of:
The Peace Corps didn't catch on as President Kennedy had hoped. He had envisioned sending out 100,000 volunteers a year, but the number peaked at 15,000 in 1966 and has hovered between 5,000 and 7500 for the last 30 years. The corps lost some of its energy after Kennedy's assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. in 1963. By the late '60s, money for the program was cut, and anger over the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. caused interest to decline. RENEWING THE CALL TO SERVICE Still, the Peace Corps has steadily attracted new recruits and adapted to the rimes. The 7,300 volunteers last year were just as likely to provide Internet training in Central America or business advice to former Communist countries as they were to help with stomach parasites. Former volunteers have recognized that while their service may not have changed the world, it might have changed a few lives. Dina Siber, who pioneered Peace Corps efforts in Albania in the early 1990s, said: You do wonder what your impact is. Everything is so intense. It's all about learning, and the people you meet are also learning from you. It goes both ways. Today, the Peace Corps is back in the spotlight. New plans include a mission in Afghanistan to work on reconstruction projects, help purify water, and teach English. Application requests rose 39 percent after Bush's speech, as Americans again ask what they can do. FOCUS: President Kennedy Inspires Young Americans to Serve the World's Poor TEACHING OBJECTIVES To help students understand three things: what has motivated more than 165,000 Americans to devote two years of their lives to helping people in poor countries; why President Bush wants to expand the corps; and why the record of the corps is somewhat mixed. Discussion Questions: * Would you consider joining the Peace Corps at some time in the future? * Why do you think the Peace Corps has never drawn the numbers of volunteers that President Kennedy envisioned? * Current Peace Corps data reveal that 61 percent of volunteers are female, 39 percent m.le. What do you believe accounts for this discrepancy? CLASSROOM STRATEGIES Critical Thinking: Refer to President Kennedy's rationale for the Peace Corps, as part of "the great common cause of world development." Ask: Do wealthy nations like the U.S. have an obligation to aid in the economic development of poor nations? What benefits could flow to the U.S. if there were a rise in living standards in poor nations? (Possibilities include trade with these nations; fewer refugees seeking shelter in the U.S.; less war, violence, and terrorism.) Culture Shock: The article reports that some volunteers complained about bad food and housing, insects, and other problems. Write "Culture Shock" on the board. Do students know what culture shock is? Would they be able to live with the hardships described in the article? Debate: Some people have proposed that young people be required to perform some type of public service. Have students debate the merits of this idea. Would such service be an intrusion on individual freedom or a moral obligation? Critical Thinking: Note the comment of former volunteer Dina Siber, who says Peace Corps service is a learning experience that goes both ways. Ask students how Peace Corps service might contribute to a young person's education. What would they most want to learn if they joined the Peace Corps? Design Assignment: After students finish the article, assign them to design a recruiting poster for the Peace Corps. To what values would they appeal to attract volunteers? |
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