When I Grow Up

In Colombia, students in classrooms make decisions democratically. The result has been higher rates of student involvement and achievement.

While migrants arriving in Europe wait for asylum, they have few opportunities. Liberi Nantes is a non-profit in Rome that aims to build relationships between migrants and Italians through organized recreational activities.

International students and the city of Flint, Michigan, have an imperfect but beneficial relationship. The city is a cheap and accommodating place for students to get their foot in the U.S., and the students bring their business; thus, boosting the desperate economy.

Crises and problems are well-covered in the media. When the media focuses instead on organizations that are doing social good, it has a better effect because then these organizations are more likely to receive support and expand their access.

Alleys in Seattle were once places of illicit, illegal, and unsanitary activity. The International Sustainability Institute in Seattle began organizing music and art events to bring in people, which, in turn, cleaned-up the crime and garbage. As an urban development strategy, adjacent vacant storefronts re-opened for business and beautification could be seen in new gardens.

African American boys were being treated less-than-equally by the Oakland Unified School District – a change of culture was implemented and the playing field leveled. Now, Minnesota is looking to adopt the same system that was started in Oakland by creating schools that are exclusively for African American males in hopes to help them reach higher standards of achievement.

In 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy because of a poor economy. While the city’s industrial businesses have floundered, the art scene has thrived, bringing in new sources of income through art galleries and investments in contemporary art. This new art scene is one factor to measure Detroit’s recovery and prospects of growth for the future.

When a case of the Ebola disease struck a little girl in Africa, health officials in Mali collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to contain the illness and quarantine people. The episode also has changed social customs and expanded sanitation procedures so that more people are aware of how to keep themselves healthy.

A correlation exists in Cuyahoga County between the idle youth rate -- base on teens who are neither working nor in school -- and the youth violence rate, according to an analysis done for The Plain Dealer by Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University and a professor of urban social research.

Boston professors visit countries and homes of foreign students to better understand their culture and gain insights about how to better teach them. The goal is to reach across cultural divides to help a big part of the student population — emigres from faraway lands — that is plagued with low standardized test scores and high dropout rates. Accompanying photojournalism: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/bigpicture/2015/09/12/seeking-cultural-connections/L3mIQAQM3v9YT9A2K4JliL/story.html