Comments | little_details: Iraq teens

yaoi_slut in little_details

Iraq teens

Oct 11, 2007 23:31

Blah, this is getting annoying! I'm trying to figure out what life is like for the average teenage boy, 16-17, in Iraq, present day. Specifically, I'd like to know how their school systems are, how long they're in class, how classes work, and what they do after school. I need to know which days are school days, and if kids have to have a job, what ( Read more... )

iraq (misc)

Comments 31

(The comment has been removed)

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 07:25:44 UTC

I'm not sure what you mean by specifying the site. I had no particular site in mind.

But thanks, I'll check it out.

(The comment has been removed)

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 08:16:55 UTC

Ok, I see. Thanks, that's true. ^^ I suppose I wouldn't have even known where to start as far as news sites. Especially because the info I'm looking for is a little more like... personal experience. It seems that most of these sites are giving the negative facts without much else, like normal life details.

But yours was a good one. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thread 6

eee_eph October 12 2007, 07:32:50 UTC

I'm trying to figure out what life is like for the average teenage boy, 16-17, in Iraq, present day

"I like to go to school, but because of the explosions I can't focus," Muhammed, 12

"...there are not enough desks, chairs, or classrooms. Many schools have had to double up, with a quarter of all primary schools in Iraq running two or three shifts per day - meaning reduced classroom time for each shift of students."

"Today millions of children in Iraq are attending schools that lack even basic water or sanitation facilities, have crumbling walls, broken windows and leaking roofs."

Essentially, use google. Also, your questions are very Western-centric, you seem to be presuming school life is similar to (for example) the US or UK. Iraq is still in a mess, ruined by war. Currently there aren't rigid, typical school systems, and after school they try not to get killed. jereeza's comment above is very helpful, tool, for searching for stories.

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 07:46:16 UTC

This is why I'm asking. I never assumed it was like here. Also, I'm looking for older boys in particular, if they're even in school at that age.

I'm trying to get a feel for what sort of lives they lead. And like I said, I don't understand what the above comment is supposed to mean. So... that doesn't help much, lol.

But thank you for those links! I really appreciate it!

eee_eph October 12 2007, 07:49:37 UTC

jereeza's comment means use google correctly - use search terms. If you enter school iraq site:bbc.co.uk it searches the website bbc.co.uk. for those terms ('school' and 'iraq'). Why not do the same with other news websites?

http://www.googleguide.com/ may help you (I just googled for it, so I've never used it, but perhaps it'll help you search better)

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 07:54:43 UTC

If I didn't have a site in mind, that wouldn't really work for me. Like I said.

What confused me was the way it was presented. Did something about my post imply I used a specific website? I didn't mean to confuse anyone.

And I know how to use google, thanks. x_x

This seems to be a poor communication day all around.

Thread 20

typewriterking October 12 2007, 07:33:31 UTC

USAID's page gives an overview of their efforts in Iraqi education:

http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/education.html

Note: In government records, the most honest ground truth assessments are usually put in the pdf files. :)

Gary Sinise's aid program site should tell you want goes in the school aid kits.
http://www.operationiraqichildren.org/

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 07:47:01 UTC

Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

eleanorb October 12 2007, 08:01:48 UTC

You might want to try going at it from a different angle. Have a look to see if any universities are still functioning then look at where they draw their students from. Post 16 education in many countries is usually just for those going to university.

I've also got better results googling - Iraqi education system - rather than using Iraq as the search term.

eleanorb October 12 2007, 08:04:48 UTC

Given your edit, googling - life in Iraq teenagers - gives you loads of personal stories and blogs.

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 08:08:13 UTC

Really? That was one of my first googles! I didn't get anything. oO Maybe it wasn't quite that... I kept getting weird things about American kids and their thoughts on Iraq.

Anyway, I'll try again. Thanks!

eleanorb October 12 2007, 08:15:43 UTC

Ah, if you search from UK google (www.google.co.uk) and limit by UK only sites you get rid of all the US stuff while still keeping a lot of the rest.

Thread 6

koulagirl666 October 12 2007, 08:02:53 UTC

Perhaps if you simplify your search terms a little more you'll get more results. Try school + iraq rather than "schools in iraq" as then it will look for pages containing both words rather than the actual phrase "schools in iraq". I did fairly well with that.

jereeza's comment is useful in that you can look just at news sites or search an Iraq-specific site for mentions of school. If you include a site indicator in your search string you'll get all the hits from that site. To do that you add site:sitenamehere.com to your string. It will narrow your results to ones you're more likely to be able to use.

yaoi_slut October 12 2007, 08:12:20 UTC

I understand how it works. That wasn't why I was confused. Lol, anyway, it doesn't really matter.

Oh, and when I searched it wasn't in quotes. I was just trying to set the different searches apart for you. Sorry about the confusion.

Maybe I'm just tired but I wasn't getting anything useful at all. It looks like everyone else is finding results with the same searches I did, though, so I'm going to give it another shot.

Thank you!