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Assignment for Class #2 Wednesday, June 5th
My country, Ecuador, is located on the continent of South America. It is located on the equator so the residents enjoy mild weather year-round. As you can see in the map below it is bordered on the north by Colombia and Peru on the west and south. The Galapagos Islands, part of Ecuador, are located a few hundred miles to the west in the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Ecuador is Quito. The Ecuadorian flag is also shown below.



Assignment for Class #3 Monday, June 10th
The Galapagos Islands, located approximately 750 miles west of Ecuador, are a significant tourist attraction for the area. The worldwide reputation for the variety of wildlife studied by Charles Darwin in 1835 has become an attraction for tourists year-round and the photos below illustrate.





In Ecuador, approximately 80% of the residents are Catholic and 11% Protestant with the remaining 9% a mix of various other religions. The official and primary spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish but over 20 other languages can be found spoken within the country as well. The cultural mix of the population is approximately 80% Mestizos, a mixture of the Spanish colonizers and the South American Indians, about 10 to 15% white, and 5% black.

News Report #1
The article I found of interest was related to my selected country, Ecuador and was titled "Biggest Challenge Facing Cuenca Expat Parents is Choosing the Right Educational Option for the Kids." It was published on June 28, 2012 in the Cuenca, Ecuador News authored by David Morrill. This article was focused on the problems a family moving from the United States to a foreign country will face and what can be done to lessen the negative effects. This family moved from Boston to Cuenca, Ecuador because of a career placement. Moving into a new country, learning a new language, making friends in a different culture all had a learning curve. Apparently there were approximately 300 children in the city of nearly 300,000 that were from another country dealing a similar situation. Some attended private school while others home schooled their children. In the end after about 7 years they all agreed the experience was great and the children had received an insight into life that could only come from living in another unfamiliar country, an experience that could never be taught from a book. It was a good article that left me with something to ponder.

Assignment for class #4 Wednesday, June 12th
The primary agricultural crop for Ecuador today is bananas but prior to the 1920's the major crop was cacao the raw material for chocolate. As a major natural resource, oil makes up over half of the countries export income followed by bananas as the second largest source of revenue. Ecuador has for decades had political unrest with many violent events the last of which was in 2000 when President Jamil Mahaud was forced from the country. The Ecuadorian constitution only allows for the President to hold office for one term of four years.





**INSIGHT: The People of Ecuador**






**Assignment for class #5, Monday, June 17th**

 * The land mass of Ecuador is 109,483 square miles including the Galapagos Islands which contain approximately 5,000 square miles of that total. This is a geographical size smaller than the state of Arizona.**

While the Galapagos has 15 large islands and many more smaller ones only 5 islands are inhabited. The total population of the 5 islands is approximately 40,000. The uninhabited islands are sanctuary's for the natural habitat and are frequently visited by tourist interested in the nature that lives there.

The minimum wage in Ecuador is currently $318 per month. In 2000, the national currency was changed from the Sucre shown below to the U.S. dollar in an effort to bolster the Ecuadorian economy.





**News Report #2**

 * I found a news article in the P.M. Nigeria News titled "Technical Education, Panacea for Nigeria's Development" authored by Tosin Ajuwon on June 6, 2013.**
 * The focus of the article was on the fact that Nigeria, a country in desperate need of people with technical and trade skills, is focused on delivering regular University level higher education degrees instead of vocational and occupational training needed. The need skilled workers for various projects must be acquired from out of country because the local people may have education but not for the skills that are needed. When the unemployment rate is ever growing there should never be a reason local people could be used if only the proper training were made available to the right people. Professor Lgbekele Ajibefun, Rector of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo, Ondo, Nigeria says his school is a key to the future success of not only the state of Ondo but all of Nigeria. It has the ability to properly prepare the local people with the right skills to meet the needs of the country. Hopefully the Nigerian leadership will take steps to further this type of educational opportunity.**

**News Report #3**

 * I found this article, "Education Crisis Threatening Italy's Economic Future" in Education News. It was authored by Julia Lawrence on June 17, 2013.**
 * This article pointed out how the economic collapse of 2008 has uncovered some of the systematic problems facing Italy, including high poverty, high dropout rates and an educational system with unacceptable quality issues. A new initiative called Childhood Alarm is attempting to publicize the concern. The fear is that unless something is done to change the educational path of children of Italy, within the next 10 years it may be difficult to make a comeback for them and they are the future of Italy. Some of the problems that accompany educational problems are lack of good nutrition, social acceptance, employment opportunities and future economic outlook for the country. A study identified that only Greece and Bulgaria rank lower in Europe for the outlook of children. Italy's high school dropout rate is 18% nearly twice the average of other European countries.**
 * Like other countries, as goes the education of the young people, so goes the country.**