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<br /><ul><li><strong>In a first, two <keyword id="6355470" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="law">law</keyword> schools from India — Jindal Global Law School and <keyword id="6573571" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-law-school">National Law School</keyword> Bangalore — have been featured in the top 200 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Law. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>Of the 12,000 law schools across the globe, these are the only two Indian law schools to make it to the global university rankings.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Globally, Harvard University tops the ranking followed by Yale University and Stanford University.<br /></strong></li></ul>Not just engineering and medical sciences, Indian <keyword id="1676488" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="law-universities">law universities</keyword> are also shining bright in the global rankings. In a first, two law schools from India — Jindal Global Law School and National Law School Bangalore — were featured in the <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/jgls-ranked-top-law-school-in-india-among-top-100-150-on-global-scale-read-press-release-153465">top 200</a> of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Law. <br /><br />“This is the result of continuous efforts of our government to promote the environment of research and innovation in our educational institutions,” said Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.<br /><br />Of the 12,000 law schools across the globe, these are the only two Indian law schools to make it to the global university rankings. OP Jindal Global University’s law school has been ranked in the 101-150 bracket in the list while National Law School has been ranked in top 150-200 universities.<br /><br />Only 300 law institutions were ranked this year. <br /><br />“It is an extraordinary and unprecedented ‘institutional moment’ for JGU to witness history as its first school is ranked number one in India and 101-150 in the world. All the schools of JGU are on this pathway to achieve global recognition and institutional eminence,” Raj Kumar, founding vice chancellor, JGU <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/jgls-ranked-top-law-school-in-india-among-top-100-150-on-global-scale-read-press-release-153465">said</a>.<br /><br />QS Subject Ranking in Law measures the global relevance of institutions specifically in the area of research in law along with reputation from the academic sphere and employers. Globally, Harvard University tops the ranking followed by Yale University and Stanford University.<br /><br />Other top institutions in India — Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), University of Delhi (DU) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) — also improved their ranking on the global scale. This is because of their research quality, academic reputation, accomplishments and graduate placements. <br /><br />JNU moved up two spots to rank 162th among the top 500 universities while the Delhi University and AIIMS were ranked at 231st in the humanities and medicine fields, respectively. <br /><br />In the engineering and technology domain, five Indian institutions ranked in the top 100 universities, compared to three last year. This includes Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur and Kanpur. <br /><br /><strong>See also:</strong><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/iits-iisc-and-amrita-vishwa-vidyapeetham-among-the-11-universities-in-the-emerging-economies-university-rankings-2020/articleshow/74201891.cms">IITs, IISc and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham among the 11 universities in THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/amrita-vishwa-vidyapeetham-enters-the-top-100-in-the-rankings-for-the-very-first-time/articleshow/74202074.cms">Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham enters the top 100 in THE rankings for the very first time</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/iit-delhi-partners-with-new-zealand-universities-to-boost-research-in-data-science-sustainability-and-healthcare/articleshow/74095473.cms">IIT Delhi partners with New Zealand Universities to boost research in data science, sustainability and healthcare</a><br />

Jindal Global Law School and National Law School break into the QS World University rankings

<br /><ul><li><strong>Ronnie Screwvala-backed elearning platform upGrad today launched <keyword id="9410840" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-degree-programs">online degree programs</keyword> in partnership with the OP Jindal Global University and Jamia Hamdard University.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The platform will now offer three-year undergraduate courses — Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) and two-year programmes including Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Applications (MCA).<br /></strong></li><li><strong>It will also offer a one-year LLM (Master of Laws) degree course.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The platform witnessed a 360% jump in users in the COVID lockdown period, compared to the last quarter. </strong></li></ul>Ronnie Screwvala-backed e-learning platform upGrad today launched online degree programs in partnership with the OP Jindal Global University and Jamia Hamdard University — which are recognised as ‘Institutes of Eminence’ by the Indian government. <br /><br />The platform will now offer three-year undergraduate courses — Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) and two-year programmes including Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Applications (MCA).<br /><br />“Through this association, we aim to provide a superior <keyword id="23248" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-learning">online learning</keyword> experience to the learners, including a robust curriculum taught by world-class faculty and industry leaders. This program will aid students to excel in fields of Management and Technology and foster a new generation of forward-thinking leaders,” said Professor Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain, VC at the Jamia Hamdard University.<br /><br />It will also offer a one-year LLM (Master of Laws) degree course. “We are looking to partner with nearly 10 more universities for multiple online courses in the future,” Mayank Kumar, Co-founder of upGrad said.<br /><br />This is in line with announcements made during the budget session which said that ‘degree-level’ full-fledged online courses will be launched in India to provide quality education to the underprivileged. <br /><br />“It is a start. The COVID crisis has brought in some sort of urgency and awareness to the medium of online being a very effective and highly penetrable one,” said Ronnie Screwvala, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of upGrad. <br /><br />The cost of enrolling in these online degree programs will vary according to the course. “The programmes that we are launching with Jamia Hamdard will cost nearly ₹50,000 annually. While the LLM and MBA programme with OP Jindal University will largely cater to working professionals, it will be priced between ₹2-2.5 lakh on an annual basis,” Kumar added.<br /><br />The platform witnessed a 360% jump in users in the COVID lockdown period, compared to the last quarter. upGrad agrees that the completion rate for such courses also witnessed growth. “Today, online is allowing us to reach tier 2, 3, 4 and tier 5 cities. This includes the large rural segment as well. The blended approach that online learning brings allows us to be able to provide access to the best universities across rural India,” Screwvala added.<br /><br /><strong>Government’s push for online degrees</strong><br /><br />To kickstart the learning calendar for students, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on May 17, announced that the top 100 educational institutions in India will be automatically allowed to start courses online from May 30, 2020. <br /><br />Under this, the courses will be taught via live interactions and aired on TV channels for students from 1st to 12th grade to access it. It will also introduce at least 12 educational channels to keep the learning continuity for students. As many as 200 textbooks have been added to e-pathshala and 61 crore students have accessed the courses on Diksha platform, as on March 24. <br /><br />Given the delay in the academic year, the government has also tied up with private DTH operators like Tata Sky to air educational content on TV. The students and teachers can also communicate with experts via skype.<br />

upGrad rolls out online ‘blended’ degree programs in MBA, LLM and others with OP Jindal University and Jamia Hamdard

<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source">AP</p><p class="caption">Gov. <keyword id="25397" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bobby-Jindal">Bobby Jindal</keyword> (R-La.)</p></div></div></div>Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) is very upset about the indefinite suspension of <keyword id="1625870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Duck-Dynasty">Duck Dynasty</keyword> star Phil Robertson.</p>
<p>In case you haven't heard, Robertson was fired after a <a href="http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson">GQ interview</a> in which, among other offenses, he compared homosexuality to bestiality and described Shintoism as a religion that leads to murder.</p>
<p>Robertson also offered this insight:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>It seems like, to me, a vagina - as a man - would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical.</span></p>
<p>Jindal <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&amp;tmp=detail&amp;catID=2&amp;articleID=4374">said this</a> about the firing:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>This is a free country and everyone is entitled to express their views.  In fact, I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment.</span></p>
<p><span>As a reminder to the governor, no clause in the First Amendment establishes a right to star in a reality show on A&amp;E regardless of what you say to GQ about vaginas and anuses:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span><span>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Jindal is a graduate of Brown University and a Rhodes Scholar. Until about the last 18 months, he was frequently discussed as one of the brightest policy minds in the Republican Party.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span></span>He also, apparently, thinks A&amp;E is part of Congress.</span></p>

Sorry, Bobby Jindal, There's No First Amendment Right To Star In A Reality Show

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that she will run in the 2024 presidential election.</li><li>She is one of the few South Asian women to have ever run for president of the United States.</li></ul><p>On Tuesday, February 14, former South Carolina Governor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikki-haley-2024-president-candidate-former-governor-family-career-2023-2">Nikki Haley</a> announced that she would be <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1625461899218280448?s=20&amp;t=0vxqyR_cNGmHKSJa2IkJpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">running for president</a> in 2024. Having served as Donald Trump's US ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018, she is the first Republican to challenge the former president in a GOP primary election.</p><p>Haley is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-makes-history-first-woman-black-vice-president-elect-2020-11">one of the few</a> South Asian women to have ever run for president of the United States, though she has been <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/21/nikki-haley-blasts-the-view-host-sunny-hostin-as-racist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> by some for distancing herself from her Indian heritage.</p><p>Born Nimrata Randhawa to Indian immigrants from Punjab, Haley goes by her childhood nickname, Nikki. Though she grew up in a Sikh household, she has publicly emphasized her <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/us/politics/14haley.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conversion</a> to Christianity. She was also accused of <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/07/indian-nikki-haley-says-she-is-white/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing her race as "white"</a> on a 2001 voter registration card.</p><h2>'A brown girl in a Black and white world'</h2><p>At other times, Haley has been quite vocal about her Indian American identity, but mostly to use it as a twisted reference for America's progression toward racism. At the 2020 Republican National Convention, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/nikki-haley-claims-america-not-racist-later-says-she-faced-n1238025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haley claimed</a> that "America is not racist," and cited her immigrant family's success despite a struggle with discrimination and adversity to make a case for a reformed nation. </p><p>"I was a brown girl, in a Black and white world. We faced discrimination and hardship. But my parents never gave in to grievance and hate," she said. "My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a historically black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor."</p><p>In her <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1625461899218280448?s=20&amp;t=0vxqyR_cNGmHKSJa2IkJpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> announcing her presidential bid, Haley says, "I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not Black, not white, I was different."</p><p>Haley's on-and-off relationship with her Indian American heritage is what sociologists call strategic identity deployment. "It's the idea that there are ways of presenting your identity strategically to connect with and gain favor among particular audiences," said Hajar Yazdiha, an assistant professor of sociology at University of Southern California. "Among high status, powerful elites, tapping in and out of an identity is really a political strategy."</p><p>For most of Haley's political career, Yazdiha said, she benefited from aligning with conservative white people. But as she's grown her political ambitions, she's realized the necessity of reaching broader audiences. "And so she's strategically used her Indian American identity to gain favor among moderates, to give her credibility when she claims that America isn't racist, to manipulate the model minority myth, for her favor, and to claim herself as this evidence of the American dream," said Yazdiha.</p><p>"She really gives white Americans that kind of feel good story that they're willing to rally behind."</p><h2>The model minority myth</h2><p>Because Haley is South Asian, the model minority myth works in her favor, Yazdiha said. "The model minority myth is a racial project that's framing Asian Americans as a hardworking, law abiding, high achieving group. That's really a testament to the American dream," Yazdiha said. </p><p>The myth is harmful as it imagines Asians as a monolith and is used to distract from the reality of systemic racism that affects other marginalized groups. "It gets rolled out to draw comparisons between Asian Americans and other racialized groups, especially Black Americans, to argue that by playing the rules and putting in the hard work, anyone can overcome discrimination and pull themselves up by their bootstraps," said Yazdiha. It also distracts from the real <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-are-not-monolith-danger-of-single-asian-american-story-2021-3">racism</a> that Asian Americans face.</p><p>"The model minority myth becomes this political strategy for driving wedges between racialized groups that would, I think otherwise, be allies against white supremacy. So it gives Asian Americans this sense of conditional citizenship, that if they embrace the myth of the model minority, they can align themselves with white power," Yazdiha said.</p><h2>The privilege of ambiguity</h2><p>Haley isn't the only South Asian politician to employ the model minority myth. Former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal of the Republican Party has had his fair share of controversial instances of weighing between his Indian American identity and distancing himself from it, from defending a <a href="https://twitter.com/LamarWhiteJr/status/562714774287695873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E562714774287695873%7Ctwgr%5E54f659a33a8458efbef0321b09232ca3db8c392b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Fdavidmack%2Fjindal-portrait" target="_blank" rel="noopener">white-washed portrait</a> of himself that hung in his office's lobby to claiming liberals are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/09/politics/jindal-left-obsessed-with-race/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"obsessed with race."</a></p><p>Political commentators do it, too. Dinesh D'Souza, a right-wing political commentator and author has a track record of mocking Black public figures, from <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/568074632844017664?s=20&amp;t=t3KsqH9xq1D8LhIuEmEMjw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/820381140112412673?s=20&amp;t=C9qVHbvSMGPMqPtGjTWA2w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rosa Parks</a> to the murder of <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpGotRaided/status/405883115425386497?s=20&amp;t=cfaugQwZYyqJJWMusbqVUA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trayvon Martin</a>. In his book "The End of Racism," <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/10/8/6936717/dinesh-dsouza-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D'Souza claimed</a> "the old discrimination" has been replaced by "rational discrimination" based "on accurate group generalizations."</p><p>"Essentially, these people are being exalted to kind of mask the way white conservatives have perpetuated racism," said Vinay Harpalani, a law professor at University of New Mexico.</p><p>Haley's and Jindal's lighter complexions may also speak to the ways in which colorism benefits some conservative South Asian politicians in assimilating. It forges the perpetual foreigner trope.</p><p>"It's this idea that South Asian Americans really can never be American and will always be associated with our homelands more than with the US, even if we were born and raised here. But appearing white allows people like Nikki Haley to mitigate the effects of that stereotype, and people question her American-ness less. It allows her to pass even if her heritage is known," said Harpalani.</p><p>Yazdiha agrees. "Ambiguity, in many ways, can actually be a privilege. Especially when your racial ambiguity gets compounded by the status privileges of wealth and education, having that ambiguity can be a powerful political tool because you can effectively play both sides," she said.</p><p>Some might view playing both sides as a survival mechanism for those who are in positions of lesser power, or write it off as an expected political maneuver to find success in political systems primarily made by and for white men. To this, Yazdiha believes we have more of a reason to hold those who are in positions of cultural and political power to a higher standard.</p><p>As Yazdiha said: "We should question a system that gives these strategies. We should resist a system that makes these strategies so effective and we should resist the politicians of color who build their power by maintaining white supremacy."</p>

Nikki Haley and the manipulation of the model minority myth

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Jaromir Chalabala/EyeEm/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">A 2017 New American Economy report showed that the demand for bilingual workers more than doubled from 2010 to 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>If you're looking to learn a new language fast for a business trip or <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> expedition, it can be done.</li><li>Business Insider tapped six people who did it to learn their tricks to the trade.</li><li>They offered some helpful tools and resources, as well as some advice.</li><li>Their tips include learning the most-used verbs, recording yourself speaking, and finding ways to meet up with or video chat with natural speakers.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul><p>If you need to learn a new language in order to take advantage of a career opportunity, be it a business trip or job change, then you're part of a growing contingent of workers trying to boost their language skills. </p><p>A <a href="http://www.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NAE_Bilingual_V9.pdf">2017 New American Economy</a> (NAE) report showed that the demand for bilingual workers more than doubled from 2010 to 2015, and more companies than ever are seeking employees who speak multiple languages. </p><p>It makes perfect sense why an increasingly global business environment requires people who can rapidly develop new language skills. As Leonardo De Valoes, adjunct faculty at Trinity Washington University, wrote in a <a href="https://discover.trinitydc.edu/continuing-education/2014/02/26/importance-of-language-why-learning-a-second-language-is-important/">2014 blog post</a> on the school's website, "Communicating directly with new clients and companies in their native language is one of the first steps to founding a lasting, stable international business relationship. Being able to do this automatically puts any multilingual person miles ahead of his or her peers in the competition for jobs and high-prestige positions." </p><p>But it's no small feat - especially if you already have your hands full with your current job responsibilities - to pick up a new language <em>muy rápido</em>. According to a <a href="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2480790/Blog%20Media%20and%20Resources/Cerego%202019%20-%20This%20Is%20How%20We%20Learn.pdf">2019 This Is How We Learn Report</a> from the learning software company Cerego, it takes 15.5 hours of study distributed across 56 days to master a course, and 86% of what we read or listen to is gone from our memory in a matter of days. </p><p>Business Insider picked the brains of six people who successfully taught themselves how to speak a different tongue in record time to understand how it can be done. </p><h1>Practice key words and phrases</h1><p>As a PR veteran with more than three decades in the business, Barry M. Schwartz, president of <a href="http://www.schwartzpr.com/">Schwartz Public Relations</a>, often finds himself abroad. </p><p>"Travel is an integral part of the work, as mine has included regular trips to Europe, South America, and Asia," he said. Yet like many people, Schwartz found it very challenging to become fluent in a foreign language for these short stints. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Barry M. Schwartz</span></p><p class="caption">Barry M. Schwartz.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>As a workable alternative to fluency, Schwartz explained that he found it "most advantageous" to at least learn key phrases required on his travels. </p><p>"[This] helps in two ways: just getting around more easily, and equally important, serving to ingratiate yourself with the locals, whether clients, media, or just folks you meet," he said.</p><p>To facilitate this effort, Schwartz used a teaching tool/card game called <a href="https://www.itslingo.com/">Lingo</a>, which, according to the website, provides 54 essential translations "accompanied by intuitive, easy-to-learn pronunciations." </p><p>While he confessed that the card game isn't the way you "really learn a language," he emphasized its value for helping business people take advantage of career opportunities by being able to speak just well enough to communicate while on assignment. </p><p>"Many business travelers have found Lingo to be an invaluable aid in just getting through the day," he said. </p><h1>Learn the most-used verbs and how to conjugate them </h1><p>Studying languages is a major passion for Josh Palmer, who studied French in high school, learned Chinese by living and working in Beijing for two years after college (while earning his MBA from National Taiwan University), and learned Spanish while living and studying full time in Spain.</p><p>Last year, Palmer founded <a href="https://languageposters.com/">LanguagePosters.com</a>, a business designed expressly to help people learn languages more quickly and easily. Palmer's venture initially launched with posters in Spanish, French, and Italian, but now the business sells 10 different posters in eight languages in more than 20 countries. The latest posters come with decoder glasses that obscure the irregular verb conjugations to help you quiz yourself.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Josh Palmer</span></p><p class="caption">Josh Palmer.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The business was born out of his own desire for speedier and more effective language tools. Palmer had just moved to Barcelona to study Spanish, and really wanted resources to help him learn the language faster, but couldn't find anything on the market that "didn't look like it was designed for a second-grade classroom."</p><p>"I knew from high school French class that memorizing the irregular verb conjugations was going to be the trickiest part - even more so with Spanish, where every letter is pronounced - and designed a poster I could keep on display to help with this memorization," he said. "I knew it had to look nice as well, so my roommates would let me keep it up in the living room."</p><p>Palmer explained that as the action words of the sentence, verbs are the key to speaking a language. "You'll naturally learn the names of commonly used things around you, and you can always point and use the words for 'this' or 'that,'" said Palmer. "But unless you're a charades expert, you'll want to learn the most-used verbs. For example, learning to say 'I want this,' [and] 'Do you have that?' will get you pretty far." </p><h1>Build the basics using workbooks and a frequency dictionary</h1><p>Russell Knight, who today is an attorney at the <a href="https://divorceattorneynaplesfl.com/">Law Office of Russell Knight</a>, had the foresight to realize when he was 30 years old that learning Spanish would come in handy in his legal career.</p><p>Back in 2007, as he was starting his law career at a small firm on the west side of Chicago, Knight was under pressure to get up to speed with Spanish quickly. </p><p>"That year the bottom fell out of the legal market," he said. "The only people walking through the door with cash were Spanish speakers. There were no other job openings for fresh attorneys. I needed to learn Spanish and I needed to learn Spanish fast." </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Russell Knight</span></p><p class="caption">Russell Knight.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>To learn the language as quickly as possible, Knight ramped up the "old-fashioned way" with a frequency dictionary. "This is a dictionary that starts with the most common word and goes to the next common word," he said. "Most languages use 500 words for 90% of all conversations. I memorized the first 1,000 words." This was what Knight needed to be able to communicate with his clients.</p><p>"Now … about a third of my clients are Spanish speakers," said Knight.</p><p>Once he had the basics nailed, Knight took more time finessing his Spanish skills by beefing up his grammar. "There is no way around this other than buying grammar workbooks with all of the problems that involve filling in the blanks," he said. "This is not fun and it takes hours ... but it [does] teach you." </p><p>Knight caveats that advancing to the stage where he could speak extemporaneously in a new language took much longer than mastering common words and grammar. "Making a language immediately register in your mind and leap off your tongue [is] like gaining muscle memory, but learning the basics just took a few months," he said. </p><h1>Record yourself speaking</h1><p>Annemarie Fowler, owner and director of the online English fluency training company <a href="https://www.speakconfidentenglish.com/">Speak Confident English</a> and <a href="https://www.speakconfidentenglish.com/fluencyschool/">Fluency School</a>, made recordings of herself speaking French in order to learn it quickly to prepare to accompany her husband for his diplomatic posting in France.  </p><p>"I'm a professional language coach, so I should have known how to learn a language quickly, but it took me years to discover this strategy for myself," Fowler admitted.</p><p>She recommended that after recording yourself speaking in your target language you "listen to it. Analyze it. (Delete it if listening to yourself is uncomfortable.) And do it again."  </p><p>If you're unsure how to get started with this method, Fowler advised beginning with a spoken journal summarizing your day. "You can talk about what's happening at work, practice for conversations you know you'll have, or simply summarize a movie you just saw," she suggested.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Annemarie Fowler</span></p><p class="caption">Annemarie Fowler.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The language coach said that once she put this system in place, she noticed "immediate results" in her fluency, vocabulary, and overall confidence when communicating in French. Fowler still uses this strategy to maintain her language skills and also uses it with her clients for fast, effective language absorption. "It's particularly helpful for shy, anxious second-language speakers," she said.</p><p>She explained that this works in helping you quickly and effectively master a language because you must first practice speaking in order to skillfully gain command over a language.</p><p>"Recording yourself gives you that opportunity [to practice speaking], no matter where you live or what your level might be," she said.</p><p>The other reason that Fowler believes this approach works is that it helps you see your weaknesses. "They say you can't fix what you don't know is broken," said Fowler. "Analyzing your recorded speech highlights gaps in knowledge and ability." </p><p>She added that recording yourself practicing a language multiple times develops muscle memory. "Creating that automaticity with the words and grammar you need to express yourself is how confidence and fluency are built," she stated.</p><p>Fowler reassured that while listening to yourself may feel uncomfortable, "thankfully, you get comfortable with how you sound rather quickly." </p><h1>Meet or video chat with native speakers</h1><p>Digital tools were primarily how Brett Downes, an SEO specialist with link-building service <a href="https://dfylinks.com/">DFY Links</a>, speedily spruced up his Spanish in preparation to work in Guatemala for 11 months in 2014. </p><p>"The [employees at the] hostel I worked at were all Spanish speaking," recalled Downes. "Before flying in, I downloaded the <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/">Duolingo</a> app on my phone and used it for two hours every day for three months before arriving in Guatemala."</p><p>Additionally, Downes signed up for an online Spanish lesson, through which he would speak via Skype with a teacher for three times a week for one-hour sessions. "The app helped me learn words, conjugations, and formal things, while speaking in person [via Skype] allowed me to practice understanding and also interacting with a real person in Spanish."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Brett Downes</span></p><p class="caption">Brett Downes.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Downes boosted his adeptness at the language still further by participating in a home-stay for a month, during which he lived with a Spanish-speaking family before starting his job. </p><p>"I was forced to converse in Spanish only," Downes remembered. "It was here that I really got to grips with the language, and when I actually … could hold lengthy conversations with the staff and guests while being able to read, write, and understand emails and work documents, too."</p><p>The SEO specialist still works remotely for a Spanish school in Guatemala and has continued with his Skype lessons to keep his skills fresh - albeit just once a week now.</p><h1>Listen to language audio guides, and constantly speak it</h1><p>Saurabh Jindal, founder of voice mobile application <a href="https://talktravelapp.com/">Talk Travel</a>, is no stranger to learning new languages. A current resident of Paris, he has been learning French "to help [him] with … daily life as well as in professional settings." He previously lived for a year in Chile, learning Spanish for the same reasons. </p><p>"I travel a lot, and try to learn the basics - a few words, at least - of a new language to break the ice and communicate in the local ecosystem," said Jindal.</p><p>For Jindal, the quickest way to "get around" a new language has been to use audio guides, including Paul Noble's "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Next-Steps-French-Paul-Noble/dp/B07G4F5FCW/">Next Steps in French</a>" and "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Spanish-Paul-Noble-Complete/dp/B01D1VJNQQ">Learn Spanish</a>." "I listen to them a lot during the day - sometimes even as a replacement to music," he said. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Saurabh Jindal</span></p><p class="caption">Saurabh Jindal.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The biggest benefit that Jindal noticed from the audio guides was the ability to understand accents. "In the beginning it was a pain to decipher what was being spoken, but regularly hearing the audio guides enhanced my comprehension of the spoken words," he said.</p><p>He added that it can be extra helpful to immerse yourself in the "actual environment" with foreign language speakers. </p><p>"If you force yourself to converse with them in their language, [it] makes you think and use the words," Jindal said. "Practice makes … perfect, and it couldn't have been more apt for learning languages. I tried to speak, whenever I could, even if it was broken, but gradually got hold of things, and now I am at a decent level."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-net-worth-singer-millionaire-makes-spends-money-wealth-2019-4">Taylor Swift is the world's highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $360 million.</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The best way to teach yourself a new language fast, from 6 people who've done it

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On Tuesday, presidential candidate Bobby Jindal will participate in a town hall event in Iowa hosted by Believe Again, a super PAC that supports the Republican candidate.</span></p><p>In anticipation of the event, Believe Again encouraged the Twitter users to contribute questions for him to answer, tagging their tweets with the hashtag #AskBobby.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">Twitter users were quick to respond, but not in the way that Jindal's operatives were probably hoping.</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Twitter users flooded the hashtag with disparaging comments about Jindal's religious platform and his unpopularity as the governor of Lousiana.&#xa0;</p><p>Some of the tweets were racist. Others focused on policy and religion. Nearly all of them were negative.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><div></div><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">In his six years spent in the Lousiana Governor's Mansion, Jindal has drawn intense criticism from the scientific community for allowing public schools to teach creationism.</p><p class="embed-spacer">Although Jindal majored in biology at Brown University, he apparently holds some anti-science views. He signed the Louisiana Science Education Act into law, allowing<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;creationism to be taught in Louisiana's science classrooms, </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/07/bobby_jindal_possible_vice_presidential_pick_but_has_a_creationism_problem_.html">according to Slate.</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">In May, Jindal's job performance rating in Lousiana hit an "all time low," <a href="http://blogs.theadvocate.com/politicsblog/files/2015/05/smoarpoll.pdf">according to a poll </a>conducted by the Baton Rouge-based Southern Media and Opinion research..</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">Jindal is a staunch opponent of abortion, and for the past five years his state has been named the most pro-life state in the nation by America's United for Life group, <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2015/02/17/bobby-jindals-state-was-most-pro-life-for-five-years-imagine-wat-he-could-do-as-president/">according to LifeNews, a website that focuses on pro-life advocacy.</a></p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">In a statement released on Friday following the Supreme Court's decision to nationally legalize gay marriage, Jindal said, "If we want to save some money, let's just get ride of the court," <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/246301-jindal-lets-just-get-rid-of-the-court">The Hill reports</a>.</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p class="embed-spacer">If there's one thing that these Twitter users and the Believe Again PAC can probably agree on, it's that the #AskBobby hashtag was a bad idea.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p>&#xa0;</p><p>It's unclear what questions Jindal will answer at tonight's event, but this<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;Twitter user summed up the whole experience pretty succinctly.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-evolve-evolution-dwight-office-rainn-wilson-2015-5">Dwight from 'The Office' explains how Twitter has evolved over the years</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xyYnAwdTouPG4wv6bTGAURLCym3emkpK" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This Republican presidential candidate's feel-good campaign hashtag blew up in his face

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.</li><li>While different kinds of industries try to grapple with the current situation and resort to lay offs and salary cuts, <keyword id="2008319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upgrad">upGrad</keyword>, on the other hand, is on its way to becoming a ₹500 crore brand by next month. </li><li>upGrad’s <keyword id="237838" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arjun-Mohan">Arjun Mohan</keyword> shares with us a few reasons why upGrad has seen an uptick in downloads by over 75%, its marketing strategy and plans to earmark ₹500 million for 2/3 acquisitions in FY 21.</li></ul>With the nationwide lockdown, everyday hustle-bustle has come to a complete halt. We have more time for ourselves now than ever before and people are using this time to discover and hone their talent. They are getting experimental and extremely creative, using this time to gain new skills inside the four walls of their houses. It has brought online education to the forefront and helped accelerate its growth in India. <br /><br />As a result, upGrad, a higher-education platform, has seen a 75% increase in app downloads and is on track to becoming a ₹500 crore brand by next month. In Q4, the app recorded over 100% Q-o-Q jump, as it expanded its portfolio two-fold by adding new programs under its Management and Data verticals. <br /><br />We caught up with Arjun Mohan, India CEO, upGrad to further understand its marketing strategy, mantra behind its sustainable business and revenue goals for this quarter. <br /><br />Excerpts: <br /><br /><strong>Q. How has the last month been for you? How have you observed the consumer behaviour changing? Have you witnessed any uptick in demand?</strong><br /><br />The novel Coronavirus has brought online education to the forefront, which otherwise was playing second fiddle to the offline model. Majority of India has become accustomed to the new normal, which indeed is a catalyst in this situation. Individuals have become extremely alert about the collateral damage (fears of job loss and insolvency) that they may suffer and are looking forward to utilising the additional time on hand meaningfully, by opting for upskilling options.<br /><br />We have launched the largest cohort (batch) with 4,000 learners in March and have doubled our course capacity in April, to cope with the surge. We have moved to monthly cohorts which earlier was at a quarterly level with each class now having a peak of 1000 learners at a given time. Additionally, with over 6 lakh downloads till date, our Android mobile App (upGrad App) houses professional communities in the field of Product Management, Data Science &amp; Machine Learning, MBA, and Digital Marketing with live discussions, exchange of ideas and opportunities within each community. In these communities, engagement in terms of comments and shares increased by 143% in the same period. Overall, the app downloads increased by over 75% after the lockdown was announced on March 24 this year.<br /><br />Also, with remote working coming into force, we have witnessed a growing intent towards business &amp; management programs. There’s been an increase in total interests and enrollments we have received for our Global MBA programs, which we have launched earlier this year in partnership with the renowned Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Deakin University. These programs have contributed to 40% of the growth recorded in April.<br /><br /><strong>Q. Have you introduced any new courses/tools to leverage this surge in demand? </strong><br /><br />We have now doubled our course capacity and moved to monthly cohorts (batches) which earlier was at a quarterly level, to take on the surge in demand from working professionals. Each batch now has a peak of 1000 learners at a given time.<br /><br />Recently after the COVID-19 outbreak, we are allowing learners to start a university-certified MBA, Master’s or Diploma program at an initial cost of ₹10,000 only, and experience it till June 15, 2020. We have received more than 1,00,000 interests and over 1000 enrolments, so far. Additionally, we also launched a wide range of free programs, which offer 350+ cumulative hours of content in terms of recorded sessions, quizzes, live lectures, projects, etc., and have reported more than 26,000 enrolments, till date.<br /><br /><strong>Q.  Do you expect this uptick to continue even after the lockdown ends?<br /></strong><br />upGrad recently launched the whitepaper with FICCI in which research indicated that 92% of learning leaders have confirmed the adoption of online learning journeys from 68% in the pre corona period. Most of these are in building digital skills in the areas of Data Sciences, AI, ML, Full Stack Software Engineering, Digital Marketing and MBA courses.<br /><br />Even before COVID-19, online education in India was on the rise, and people were making a gradual shift from offline to online. However, with COVID-19 hitting the world suddenly, the pandemic has steered everyone towards online learning, making it mainstream rather than just another option for learning and upskilling. Online education has hit the fast track and with various universities and colleges adopting edtech platforms, we think the demand will be sustained even after the COVID-19 era. The comfort, safety, and flexibility offered by online education will continue to steer the demand.<br /><br /><strong>Q. How does this quarter look like for you? Do you still see upGrad meeting its goals?<br /></strong><br />The current COVID-19 situation is a net positive for online education. In Q4, upGrad recorded over 100% Q-0-Q jump, as it expanded its portfolio twofold by adding new programs under its Management and Data verticals. We have witnessed a 72% growth in booked revenue in April and touched the 53K paid learners mark at the ARPU of ₹ 2.5 lakhs, highest across the online education landscape. We have also successfully crossed the mark of 5,00,000 learners, who are largely working professionals, from the South Indian cities of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, followed by Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Pune.<br /><br />Additionally, this quarter we have partnered with the Top B- School - IMT Ghaziabad for an 18-month online program, followed by a job guarantee by upGrad; we have also partnered with the renowned O.P. Jindal Global University for 2 new Degree programs- a 1-year LLM in Corporate &amp; Financial Law and a 2-year MBA in Digital Finance and Banking.<br /><br />Therefore, to conclude, I would like to add that with our revolutionary initiatives, and well-structured programs that help professionals’ transition in their career, we look forward to doubling our revenue by June 2020 and crossing an annual run rate of Rs 500 crore.<br /><br /><strong>Q. How do you see the online learning sector shaping up for the lockdown? </strong><br /><br />COVID-19 has dramatically changed the education landscape across the globe. Even in India, online education has proved its robustness as compared to the offline institutes that have been shut for an infinite period. Owing to its flexibility and feasibility, learners in the coming times would prefer to take up online programs from the comfort and safety of their houses. Also, as the trend continues, with more and more renowned universities adopting e-learning and investments reducing in infrastructure, the cost of education will substantially be reduced. Therefore, to conclude, I would like to add that the online learning sector is anyway on an upward trajectory and will continue to rise in the future, making it the way forward.<br /><strong><br />Q. You had announced last month that you are looking at acquiring companies. How is that search coming along? Have you found your partners yet?<br /></strong><br />Capitalizing on the boom for the online learning sector, both worldwide and in India, we have earmarked ₹500 million for 2/3 acquisitions in FY 21. We are in active discussions and have also shortlisted a few prospective companies. However, it is too early to commit who these companies are, as we are still in the process to meet some great entrepreneurs and understand their vision.<br /><br /><strong>Q. Tell us a bit about your recent campaign? </strong><br /><br />The new #AageKiSoch rap song, is the sequel to upGrad’s upskill anthem by the same name which was launched last month and reached 30 million individuals. This quirky piece aims to inspire young Indians to stay productive and upskill themselves during the nationwide lockdown. The latest music video is a fresh take on how professionals and college students now have extra time in hand and can use it meaningfully to enhance their professional growth, at large.<br /><br />upGrad through its marketing effort is trying to shed the stereotypical perception of education brands being serious. These two sets of videos (last ones and this one) bear testimony to the fact that creativity and storytelling is at the centre of our marketing communication. We used animated graphics for the latest music video -features possible without any shoot that yet turn out to be a visual treat.<br /><br /><strong>Q. In these uncertain and stressful days, how are you communicating with your audience? </strong><br /><br />With the remote working concept, individuals and working professionals have been deprived of a very important aspect of human civilization- which is socializing. To minimise the adverse effects of the widespread pandemic on the psychological health of individuals, we had launched a ‘COVID-19 Awareness Program’ last month. It was a 5-day long online program, wherein the domain experts gave live talks on safeguarding one’s finances, and career along with mental health in the current scenario. Also, expert sessions were hosted live, allowing for active interactions and query resolution for the ~4500 participants who participated, completely free of cost.<br /><br />Additionally, we understand that the remote working has also brought other side effects to the forefront, like lethargy, lack of interest in work, monotony, etc. Therefore, to motivate individuals to use this extra time on hand, meaningfully and to promote productivity, we have launched #AageKiSoch campaign last month, and have successfully reached 30 million individuals.<br /><br /><strong>Q. What does your media plan look like? Which medium gets your lion's share? </strong><br /><br />At the beginning of the year, we announced a budget of Rs 175 crore as a part of our media plan for the year 2020, wherein we have Rs 100 crore allotted for television and Rs 75 crore for digital. Both the mediums have seen higher traction during the pre and post COVID-19 outbreak and therefore, we are continuing with it.<br /><br /><strong>Q. How big is your team right now and how is upGrad helping its employees deal with lockdown blues and anxiety? </strong><br /><br />Happy employees are more engaged and productive. For us, the emotional wellness of our employees is crucial as it is the driving force to make people the best of themselves.<br /><br />Boredom and loneliness can impact mental well-being and therefore, productivity as well, if not nipped in the bud. At upGrad, we have tied up with YourDOST as our Employee Wellness Partner to provide expert counselling to all our 1200+ employees with round the clock support on career, relationships, work-life balance or anything else that bothers them. In times like these, with such tie-ups, we strive to support our employees in every way possible.<br />

Marketing in the times of COVID-19: upGrad

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>As 2015 comes to a close, it's becoming clear that certain <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword> stories will heat up over the next year. From <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-sat-is-changing-its-format-in-2016-and-will-be-easier-2015-6">a revamped SAT exam</a> to a Supreme Court case<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-abigail-fisher-affirmative-action-case-2015-12"> that may change college admissions</a>, these are the big education stories to watch.</p><p><strong>1. The crumbling for-profit college industry</strong></p><p>In April of this past year, Corinthian Colleges, the second largest for-profit college system in the US, abruptly announced it was shutting its doors for good. That decision followed a<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/education-department-fines-heald-college-2015-4"> $30 million fine from the </a><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/education-department-fines-heald-college-2015-4">Department of Education (ED)</a>, which claimed Corinthian</span><span> misrepresented the kinds of jobs its graduates could get.</span></p><p>That was not an isolated event. The entire for-profit industry has come under fire for its alleged focus on signing up students and depositing their federal financial aid checks rather than providing a quality education.</p><p><span>The largest for-profit college system, University of Phoenix, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/university-of-phoenix-military-recruitment-ban-2015-10">was suspended from recruiting military students</a></span> by the Department of Defense (DoD) in October, which was notable as it pulls in more money than any other US college, public or private, from military students. </p><p>And another for-profit college powerhouse, Education Management Corporation (EDMC), <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-loretta-e-lynch-delivers-remarks-press-conference-announcing-955-million">payed $95.5 million</a> in November to settle a case alleging it falsely obtained federal and state education funds.</p><p>The nearly $100 million settlement was the largest false claims settlement with a for-profit educational institute in history.</p><p>It's not yet evident whether more for-profit colleges will be handed massive fines by the federal government or have to close as a result of financial difficulty, making it a story to watch out for in the coming year.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Susan Walsh</span></p><p class="caption">Abigail Fisher, the Texan involved in the University of Texas affirmative action case, and Edward Blum, who runs a group working to end affirmative action, walks outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012.</p></div><p></p></div></div>2. Affirmative action in the Supreme Court</strong></p><p>In December, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/30/us/supreme-court-will-reconsider-affirmative-action-case.html">a case on affirmative action</a> that could have a far-reaching impact on the ability of universities around the nation to consider race in admissions. </p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-fisher-v-university-of-texas-decision-could-be-a-major-blow-to-affirmative-action-2015-6">Fisher v. University of Texas (UT)</a> will determine whether it's constitutional for the University of Texas at Austin to consider race as one factor in its admission policy. </p><p>The plaintiff - a white woman named Abigail Fisher who was denied admission to the Texas' flagship public university in 2008 - claims her race played a factor in her rejection, and that UT accepted less qualified nonwhite students.</p><p>As the case unfolds in 2016, the future of affirmative action hangs in the balance. </p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla / Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>3. Malia Obama's college choice</strong></p><p>Malia Obama <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/where-will-malia-obama-go-to-college-2015-10">toured a number of colleges around the US in 2015</a>, leading to rampant speculation over her eventual college choice.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="267" data-total-count="2111">She toured six of the eight Ivy League Schools - Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale - as well as Barnard, the University of California at Berkeley, New York University, Stanford, Tufts, and Wesleyan, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/05/us/politics/malia-obamas-college-pick-ivies-liberal-arts-or-public-university.html?_r=1">according to The New York Times</a>.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="267" data-total-count="2111">While she has yet to announce if she's been accepted to any school early decision, or if she favors one school over others, the most popular theory is that she will end up at NYU, based on the fact that the president said she is interested in majoring in film studies. <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-scholarship-coach/2012/04/12/consider-these-scholarships-for-film-students">NYU</a><span><a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-scholarship-coach/2012/04/12/consider-these-scholarships-for-film-students">'s Tisch School of the Arts is known to be one of the top film schools</a> in the US.</span></p><p>And this summer, she had an internship in New York City on the set of HBO's "Girls" and proved herself to fit right into the scene, <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/07/27/inside-malia-obamas-awesome-nyc-summer/">according to the New York Post</a>. </p><p>But perhaps she will decide to go to her mother's alma mater, Princeton, or her father's undergraduate choice, Columbia. We don't yet know and will likely have to wait until the spring to find out.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Russell Contreras</span></p><p class="caption">New Mexico students staged a walkout over standardized tests linked to the Common Core.</p></div><p></p></div></div>4. The future of Common Core</strong></p><p>The past year saw even bolder rhetoric against the Common Core State Standards, the controversial set of nationwide education standards that almost all 50 states signed into law.</p><p>Following near universal praise and adoption of the standards in 2010, there has since been equally swift backlash against the standards on both sides of the aisle. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/common-core-jeb-bush-campaign-2015-8">Former Republican proponents of the Common Core,</a> like <span>New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and <span>Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, have flipped their stance and condemned the standards.</span></span></p><p>And in New York State, parents banded together in 2015 to boycott the standardized tests linked to the Common Core, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/common-core-testing-boycott-numbers-new-york-school-districts-2015-4">succeeded in a 20% opt-out rate</a>. That has given pause to once staunch advocates of the Common Core, like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.</p><p>Vitriol for the Common Core has become so high that some states <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/some-states-rebrand-controversial-common-core-education-standards/2014/01/30/a235843e-7ef7-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html">have even rebranded the standards.</a></p><p>2016 will be a significant year to see if the standards survive.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mario Tama/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>5. A brand-new SAT</strong></p><p><span>The College Board, the company that owns and publishes the SAT, is changing the SAT in 2016. Starting in the</span> spring, the new version of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-sat-is-changing-its-format-in-2016-and-will-be-easier-2015-6">SAT will revert back to scoring out of 1600,</a> rather than 2400 as is the case for the current exam, and there will be four, rather than the current five, answer choices in the new version.</p><p>Some experts say the exam will be easier than before, as it will do away with obscure vocabulary and provide more time to answer the questions.</p><p>Over the next year, the new test will face additional scrutiny on the strength, or weakness, over whether it properly tests the aptitude of America's high school students.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lego-math-2015-12">The awesome way teachers are using Lego blocks to teach fractions</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="h4MnFreTq4ZM9C4wyTZeRXD13YBDRDb4" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

These 5 education stories will dominate headlines in 2016

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></p><p>Jeb Bush's Right to Rise PAC has hired an evangelical Christian legal advocate, Jordan Sekulow, as a senior adviser. The move could be crucial step in Bush's outreach to the religious right as he tries to win over dubious voters in the conservative grassroots ahead of the 2016 GOP presidential primary.</p><p>Sekulow is the Executive Director of the conservative legal advocacy group American Center for Law &amp; Justice. The group was founded by televangelist turned university president Pat Robertson in 1990 as a conservative alternative to the American Civil Liberties Union.</p><p>In the U.S., the ACLJ has advocated to protect the rights of Christian groups engaged in proselytizing and anti-abortion activism. Internationally, the group has worked to lobby foreign governments to adopt Christian values in their legal systems, which in some cases has meant promoting the criminalization of homosexuality.</p><p><span>News of Sekulow's role was first </span><a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2015/03/06/jeb-bush-brings-on-influential-evangelical-figure.aspx">reported by the Christian Broadcasting Network</a><span>, for which Robertson serves as chairman. Robertson also co-founded the Christian Coalition and was closely affiliated with the Moral Majority movement established by fellow Southern Baptist leader Jerry Falwell.</span></p><p>Sekulow, 32, publicized his new role with Bush in a statement on Friday, when he explained that he will "begin a conversation with conservatives" to tout Bush's "pro-life, pro-family, tax-cutting record."</p><p>"Bush knows how to take bold conservative ideas and put them into action," Sekulow insisted.</p><p>Bush, who converted to Catholicism in the nineties, has tried to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/gops-jeb-bush-working-reassert-conservative-credentials-29253801?singlePage=true">dodge criticism that he isn't conservative enough to woo far right voters</a>. Many in the conservative base are skeptical of his sympathetic views on immigration and support for President Obama's Common Core education standards. Furthermore, several aides who have been hired by Bush ahead of his potential presidential bid are supporters of gay rights. This has led to speculation Bush <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/jeb2016lgbtfriendly#.fm50vAbOx">might also adopt a relatively progressive position on the issue</a>. </p><p>Meanwhile, the religious base of the party is being aggressively courted by the likes of former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), former Arkansas Gov. Mick Huckabee (R), and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), who tout their personal faith as part of their hardline conservative views.</p><p>In a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/01/29/jeb-bush-to-highlight-religious-faith-to-draw-evangelicals/">leaked memo from a top Bush adviser</a> in January, Bush supporters were encouraged to highlight Bush's faith in order to build support for his expected presidential campaign. </p><p>The memo quotes Bush sharing the spiritual story how his "faith was strengthened when I converted to my wife's faith."</p><p>"It gives me a serenity that, in a world of a lot of turbulence, is really important. It creates a moral architecture that simplifies things. There are views that I have, that are grounded in faith, that really aren't negotiable and it just simplifies things."</p><p>Sekulow, who had also worked for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, did not respond to a request for comment on details of his new role at Right to Rise.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-doppelganger-indonesia-2015-2">This 40-year-old Indonesian is Obama's doppelgänger</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="d1Y21iczpy9ODsMGFD3MgBIFRpYAWhOw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "jindal law university" and got 9 results

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