CNN Student News20120316

(CNNStudentNews)--March16,2012THISISARUSHTRANSCRIPT.THISCOPYMAYNOTBEINITSFINALFORMANDMAYBEUPDATED.***CARLAZUZ,HOST,CNNSTUDENTNEWS:ItisFriday.Thatisalwaysawesome.I`mCarlAzuz.ThisisCNNStudentNews.We`rereadytotakeflightwith10minutesofcommercial-freeheadlinesstartinginthree,two,one--(MUSICPLAYING)AZUZ:Onefullyear--thatishowlongthecrisisinSyriahasbeengoingon.OppositiongroupsblametheviolenceonSyria`sgovernment.Syrianofficialssayarmedterroristsareresponsibleforthefighting.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ(voice-over):Whatweknowisthatallofthisstartedwithprotests,liketheonesyouseeintheseYouTubevideos.TheSyrianswerespeakingoutagainsttheirgovernment,callingforthechange.TheconflicthashadasignificantimpactonhowSyriaisviewedbysomeothercountries.(ENDVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ:AndthathashadanimpactonSyria`seconomy.JohnDefterioslooksattheshiftthatsomeinvestorshavemadeoverthepast12months.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)JOHNDEFTERIOS,CNNREPORTER(voice-over):Alittleoverayearago,investinginSyriaseemedlikeagoodidea.Thecountryhadavoidedtheworstoftheglobaleconomiccrisis.Theprivatesectorwasopeningup.Avirtuallyuntappeddomesticconsumermarketofferedrealopportunitiesandforeigndirectinvestmentwasontherise.Butayearon,andstreetprotestsagainsttheruleofBasharal-Assadhaveledtoabloodymilitarycrackdownwiththousandslosingtheirlives.InternationalsanctionshavelefttheSyrianeconomyintatters.Tradeandinvestmentflowsareallbutfrozen,especiallyfromwithintheregion.QatarandtheUnitedArabEmirateshavebeentwoofthelargestinvestorsinSyria.Beforetheturmoil,bothcountriesviewedSyriaasahotmarketforpropertyandconstruction.Butnowthosecountriesappeartobelimitingor,insomecases,completelystoppingtheirprojects.Thestate-ownedQatariDiarRealEstateCompanyhashaltedworkonthe$350millionresortinthepoorcityofLatakia.DrakeandScull,afirmbasedintheUAE,recentlystoppedits$28millionprojectintheSyriancityofHoms,wheretroopsweredeployedtostampoutprotests.ThecashsurpluscountriesoftheGulfusedtoseeSyriaasaninvestmentsafehavenawayfromtheeconomicstrugglesoftheWest.ButthatnotionhasfundamentallychangedandthefutureofallinvestmentsinSyriahavebeenthrownintograveuncertainty.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)UNIDENTIFIEDFEMALE:Today`sfirstShoutoutgoesouttoMr.Platner`ssocialstudiesclassattheMorseSchoolinCambridge,Massachusetts.JohannesGutenbergisfamousfordoingwhat?Isitcreatingbinarycode,inventingtheradio,discoveringapoliovaccineorinventingtheprintingpress?You`vegotthreeseconds,go.Gutenbergiscreditedwithinventingtheprintingpressbackinthe1400s.That`syouranswer,andthat`syourShoutout.(ENDVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ:Britannicahasprintedsetsofitsfamousencyclopediasfor244years,buttherewon`tbea245th.Thecompanysaysthe32-volumesetfrom2010willbeitslastoneinbookform.Thereason:atleastpartofitisyou.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ(voice-over):Whenyouhavetodoresearchforapaperorareport,chancesareyou`renotrunningtogrababookofftheshelf.You`redoingwhatwedo.Wegoonline,andthat`swhereBritannicasaysit`llfocusnow,itsdigitalencyclopedia.It`sbeenpublishinganonlineversionsince1994.Thecompany`spresidentsaysalotofpeoplemightcallthedecisiontostopprintingencyclopediastheendofanera.Buthesaysit`snobigdealforBritannica.Printedencyclopediaswerelessthan1percentofBritannica`stotalsales.(ENDVIDEOCLIP)AZUZ:We`vereportedonschoolsthataretryingthesamesortofthingasBritannica,replacingtextbookswithe-readers.ButournextstoryisaboutaschoolinSiliconValley,aregionthat`shometomajortechnologycompanies.Butthisschoolisheadingintheoppositedirection,notjustlow-tech,no-tech.DanSimonexplainswhatthisisallabout.(BEGINVIDEOCLIP)DANSIMON,CNNREPORTER(voice-over):TheWaldorfSchoolofthePeninsula,aschoolwithold-fashionedchalkboardsandacurriculumcenteredaroundphysicalactivityandhands-ontasks.UNIDENTIFIEDFEMALE:Allthewayover.SIMON(voice-over):Thirdgradersusingballstohelpcoordinatebothsidesofthebrain,highschoolstudentsdrawingonachalkboardasawayofinterpretingabook.Thisschoolhaszerotechnology,nada,nocomputers,noInternet.Matthew`sdaughterusedtoattendaschoolwhereeverychildhadalaptop.SABRINEMENGERINK,STUDENT:IthinkIpreferitmuchbetterwithoutthem,becauseit`sadistraction.Ididn`treallyfeelconnectedtotheotherstudentsasmuchasIdoinWaldorf.SIMON(voice-over):Atatimewheresomeschoolsarenowembeddingsocialmediaintotheirteaching,likethisschoolinLosAngeles--UNIDENTIFIEDMALE:Remember,Damian,makesureyouhavea#infrontofthewwi.SIMON(voice-over):--theWaldorfSchoollookslikesomethingfromanotherera.Yet75percentoftheschool`sfamilieshaveatleastoneparentworkinginhigh-tech.SIMON:Whydoyoufeelpeoplewhoworkinhightechnologychoosetosendtheirchildrentoaschoolthatpreachesnotechnology?LUCYWURTZ,WALDORFSCHOOLOFTHEPENINSULA:Well,it`samazing,whenparentsgoontourandtheycomeonourcampus,alotofpeoplefeellikeit`sjustareallynaturalwaytoraisechildren.SIMON(voice-over):LucyWurtzistheschool`sdevelopmentdirectorandhelpedestablishaWaldorfHighSchoolin2007.HerhusbandisaprominentSiliconValleyexecutive.WURTZ:Sometimespeoplefeellikelifeisgoingwaytoofast,andtheywanttheirchildrentohaveamorenatural,slow-paceddevelopmentalchildhood.SoIthinkthat`swhatweprovideattheWaldorfSchool.SIMON(voice-over):OnehundredsixtyWaldo