2009-2010 Community Service

PART 1
There are many problems going on in the United States. The issue that I worked on was Education. Education is an important development of knowledge that lets students acquire many things for their life. Whether the student is young, old, or disabled, they all can learn knowledge, skills, training or instruction. The reason I chose education as my community service is that I think education is the most important problem that is currently at hand in the United States. The status of education in the United States is depleting. In effect, due to the current failing economy, the United States Educational system is going through tough times. The United States with a depleting educational system not only will affect our country, but the rest of the world. Many countries, developed and developing, depend on the United States, for resources, money and technology. If our education system starts to deteriorate, the world will start to deteriorate. Developing countries will lose money and resources including food. This will lead to them not being able to improve, and "come up" in the world. United States citizens not being as educated as in the past, will also lead to a possible halt in the advance in technology. I believe that the world should not have to suffer for our mistakes.
PART 2
The status of schools around the United States is upsetting. Since State Budgets are reducing due to the current economic state, schools are losing their funds that they depend upon year after year for many different things. The money that the schools are losing are resulting in many problems. One example is that schools are being closed. Some schools are being closed due to under enrollment; others are being closed due to their poor physical condition. In Washington D.C.,:

in three cases, [the education board] decided to soften the impact of the deeply
unpopular decisions by promising to modernize or rebuild the schools while
students were relocated... Parents in each community were told that new or
vastly modernized buildings would be ready within three years. But the school
system's $200 million-a-year capital program, which has delivered gleaming new
facilities such as Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School
(Ward 5) and the Wheatley Education Campus (Ward 5), faces a budget squeeze as
tax revenue declines and deficits mount,

this squeeze of money may, in fact, prolong this time they have projected for creating the new buildings.. Another reference, to the effect of loss in school funds, is some school districts are thinking of "scaling back to a four-day school week, and adding an extra hour or so to the remaining days." Four-day-schools is not a new idea to the United States. Some South Dakota school districts have been using four-day schools weeks since the 1930's,:

It was adopted by districts in New Mexico when the 1970’s energy crisis hit, and
the number of districts across the country switching to four days has gradually
increased with each economic crisis, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan
Education Commission of the States. Currently, out of 15,000 districts
nationwide, the ECS estimates 120 districts in 17 states use a four-day week.
They are typically small, rural districts, mainly west of the Mississippi
River.North Branch, Minnesota, school district superintendent Deb Henton says
her district has cut more than $10 million out of its budget since 2003-2004,
and without the four-day week, 'we would have to look at additional cuts and
adding more students onto teachers who already experience a very high class size
in their classroom on a daily basis. For example, some of my high school
teachers see 215 students a day.'

Deb Henton makes an excellent point. Instead of stressing out the teachers, and making it harder for them to teach, by teacher larger classes, making four-day weeks not only helps reduces the costs each school produces, it helps the teachers teach, and the students learn. The reduced week also lead to an increase "in staff and student attendance".. The third major effect to the budget deficit of states, and schools is having to lose or replace administrators and teachers. By replacing administrators, and teachers, less money will be used on staffing because they are newer staff that do not have as high of a salary as those who have worked at the school longer.

There are many things that the government is doing to help with the economic state of the United States, and the school boards who are struggling to keep schools open. One action that Obama administration is taking is giving money to failing school districts. Together Tennessee and Delaware were given $600 million to jump-start their failing schools... In total across the country "$900 million in grants and another $50 million being given to the school districts in the United States and 5,000 of the nation's worst schools [will get] back on track over the next five years."Other school districts in the country will be receiving money.

The Obama Administration also has come up with the "crazy" idea that dropping students from student loans because the government does not have the money to supply them with the coverage they need. This will reduce the number of students that will go to college. I think that this is wrong because I think that all people should have the possibility to get a higher education. The health care bill will be eliminating:

a $60 billion program that supports private student loans with federal
subsidies and replacing it with government lending to students". Out of the
total $61 billion in savings over 10 years, $36 billion will go to Pell grants,
and smaller portions will go "towards reducing the deficit and to various
Democratic priorities, including community colleges, historically black colleges
and universities, and caps on loan payments.
The Pell grant in the pastonce
covered more than two-thirds of total costs at a public university... [but] now
covers about one-third... the maximum grant could be scaled back by more than
half to $2,150 and at least 500,000 students could be dropped from the
program... So if this legislation did not pass, you would see catastrophic cuts
to the Pell grant program, effectively slamming the door shut for hundreds of
thousands of students, if not millions, who rely on the Pell grant program to go
to school
said Rich Williams, higher education associate for U.S. PIRG, the
federation for state Public Interest Research Groups.

PART 3
What needs to be done in order to make our education system better is to give more money to the school districts that really need the money. Some school district out there may be getting more money than they need. If that extra money and more money from the government go to schools that lack the sufficient funds to keep their school open, then more children will be able to get their education. If schools that are having to stop their extracurricular activities get money, that can give a chance to students to get a college education. Without their extracurricular activity, they may not be able to get a scholarship to go to school, or to get a job. What our school systems need, besides more money, is people who are willing to tutor others, whether for free or for pay. My community service of tutoring a student will help not only her, but also our country. If because of the tutoring, she is able to pass high school, and go onto college, she will be an example of what our school systems need. If there were not tutors or "aids" in the world, we would not be where we are today. More people would be dead because without nurses, doctors may not have the time to do everything. Scientists may have not found the cures to diseases without the help of their aids, and technology may not be where it is today. Without aids, who knows, we may be creating technology that, in this time was created 50 years ago.

Tennessee and Delaware win the "Race To The Top" competition

Even though Tennessee and Delaware were not favorites in the top 16 states to get the money, they won the U.S. Education Department "Race To The Top" competition. The total amount of money given to different states by the Obama administration to help support failing school districts is a whopping $4.3 billion (where the heck are we getting all of that money??).

"Tennessee chosen because 93% of the teachers unions supported its proposal so did every single school district, school board and business leader in the state ... also because Tennessee has a law that is tough on teacher accountability and allows the state to take over chronically failing schools "

Delaware also "had unanimous support form educators and politicians it too has a tough new law that rates the effectiveness of teachers and principals the state was rewarded 100 million dollars".

State Board Of Education Looks At Alisal Schools

State educators considered "new sanctions on the district (Alisal Union School District) that has consistently failed to meet state standards". In the last 15 minutes of the meeting locals, parents, and teachers were able to give their concerns. Their main concern was the appointment of an inexperienced superintendent John Ramirez, who would earn $168,000 a year for three years, with the "hiring of former superintendent Zendejas as a consultant with a pay of $14,000 a month for 10 months".

After being suggested to become a "temporary trustee on behalf of the state", Dr. Nancy Kotowski says that "she's filled that role of a trustee before and would do it until the state board appoints a permanent trustee at the next meeting in May".

Although Alisal Union School District is having trouble keeping up with state standards, I do think that they should be able to get money to help correct their problems so they can hopefully meet state standards in the near future.

What's the next step for policy makers?

The next step for policymakers is increasing college completion rates.

This past weekend President Obama make his weekly address, and make the "two [key] issues that make up this [(Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act)] law: health care and higher education:"

Education. Health care. Two of the most important pillars of a strong America grew stronger this week. These achievements don't represent the end of our challenges; nor do they signify the end of the work that faces our country. But what they do represent is real and major reform. What they show is that we're a nation still capable of doing big things. What they prove is what's possible when we can come together to overcome the politics of the moment; push back on the special interests; and look beyond the next election to do what's right for the next generation.

I agree with Obama that making Universal Health Care a "law of the land", and higher education more popular, will not end our problems or end the work for our country.

When reconciliation passed the Health Care Reform Bill into a Law, it also gave money "to low- income college students attending school on a Pell Grant". Although this is money may not personally help all college students, I do feel that this is an important necessity for many students who are unable to go to college without this extra money from the government.

Later on in Obama's speech, he stated how this money will help students during this country's time of need:

No doubt, increasing financial aid during a time of high unemployment, stagnant wages and increasing tuition is a necessary step. Hopefully, this will get more people into higher education. Our economic sustainability demands a better educated work force But, it's not enough - especially when the latest attempt to focus some efforts on postsecondary education reform, the reconciliation bill, ended up being one more example of education sacrificing new resources to pay for rising health care costs.

The article also points out how education effects our economy. Higher paying jobs usually require a higher education that High school. If there is a lower number of college graduates than normal, there are less people earning a higher amount of money. If they don not have the money to spend, the economy goes down. Since many either do not have a college education, and many do not have jobs because of the economic crisis, the economy goes down even further.

This quote from the article, "Moving forward, the goal should be clear: We should be investing our existing tax dollars in students who complete college. Our future depends on it." I think is a definite possibility, but also partially unrealistic. If we were to spend our existing tax dollars on students who complete college, other systems of our country will start to fail. The most recent example would be that the Universal Health Care system will start to not receive enough money.

Texas Trying to Change History?

The Texas State Board of Education has finally reached an all time low. How have they done this? By

removing Thomas Jefferson from a list of Enlightenment thinkers who changed the world... By 10-5, it voted down a proposal that teachers' examine the reasons The Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from protecting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others.

The Houston Chronicle states that this has occurred for one main reason. Texans when "not paying attention" elected extremists to the Texas Board of Education without knowing it. Some possible changes that the state of Texas can make in the elections of the board members are

elect[ing] the board members in nonpartisan elections. Maybe they should be appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate (a process similar to the way federal judges are appointed). Or maybe curriculum authority should move from the state board to the Texas commissioner of education, who's appointed by the governor — a higher-level politician that more voters pay attention to.

I wonder if the parents of these students in Texas have the same feelings that the Board of education in the state of Texas does (against protection of all religion, and Thomas Jefferson).

Washington D.C. Schools

In Washington D.C., 23 schools were announced that they will be closing due to the schools

being under enrolled or in poor physical condition. In three cases [they have decided to] soften the impact of the deeply unpopular decisions by promising to modernize or rebuild the schools while students were relocated.

One problem at the Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Park View is that despite an approximate

$1 million in improvements... broken water pipes and rodent droppings are a chronic problem... records confirm the allegations, showing that pees-control workers were called to the school... three times in January alone... The rodents are going into the food supply... this school is contaminated.

The problems at Bruce-Monroe are just an example of issues at other school around the country. The example of money trouble in the school system in Washington D.C. show what will be happening to other schools.

The amendment for Student Loaning

Student aid initiative, as part of the final amendments to the heath care bill, will be eliminating "a $60 billion program that supports private student loans with federal subsidies and replacing it with government lending to students". Out of the total $61 billion in savings over 10 years, $36 billion will go to Pell grants, and smaller portions will go "towards reducing the deficit and to various Democratic priorities, including community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and caps on loan payments".

The Pell grant in the past

once covered more than two-thirds of total costs at a public university... [but] now covers about one-third... the maximum grant could be scaled back by more than half to $2,150 and at least 500,000 students could be dropped from the program... So if this legislation did not pass, you would see catastrophic cuts to the Pell grant program, effectively slamming the door shut for hundreds of thousands of students, if not millions, who rely on the Pell grant program to go to school

said Rich Williams, higher education associate for U.S. PIRG, the federation fo state Public Interest Research Groups.

One of Kentucky's state representatives, Brett Guthrie, stated in opposition that "Instead of making student loans more affordable or preserving choice, competition and innovation in the loan program, Democrats are taking money from struggling students' pockets to help pay for a government takeover of health care". Although there is truth in his statement, I do not think that this is over. I hope the government will come up with a way for the students to gain money, and the government to use money for correct purposes..

To summarize the his position of the student loan amendment, Daniel de Vise wrote

The amount directed at Pell grants would drop from $40 billion to $36 billion, and a portion of the smaller amount would go toward closing an unexpected shortfall in the grant program, oversubscribed because of the recession. The annual Pell grant would rise to $5,975 by 2017 from the current $5,550, and for the first time, it would be linked to the consumer price index. In the original House bill, the Pell target was $6,900.

Community colleges would get $2 billion, down from $10 billion in the original bill. More than $20 billion in initiatives for early education, K-12 school modernization and student loan interest-rate reduction would be eliminated. But a $2.6 billion investment in historically black colleges would survive. The new bill also includes a $1.5 billion initiative that would cap a borrower's monthly loan payments at 10 percent of income, down from 15 percent.

What I did not like about this article was that it was biased. If someone reads this article, they only learn of the negatives of the student loan amendment in the Health Care Bill. To make the article better, I think that there should have been some positives of the amendment.

This is personal to me because I was thinking of applying for the Pell grant program for college. this this information, it shows me that I have a lower chance of getting the grant. Without the money, I may not be able to go to the college of my choice to get the degree that I want.

The citizens of the United States are taking things for granted

The citizens of the United States are taking things for granted. When I said this, you probably thought "we're lucky to have fresh water","we're lucky top have electricity" blah blah blah. That's not what I'm talking about. We take for granted our Primary Education. How?? Read On.

Because of the risk of fraud "The British governments said it will stop funding Kenya's Free Primary Education Program through the country's ministry of education...The United States earlier this year suspended about $7 million in funding to Kenya’s Primary Education Program [also] because of allegations of fraud." Many including Musau Ndunda "hopes the British decision will force the Kenyan government to aggressively deal with the issue of corruption within the education ministry" and that Kenya's government will hopefully take charge of the whole situation.

Afterschool programs being shut down

In New Jersey, this past February, Governor Christopher J. Christie "cut $560 million in previously approved education spending, including $5 million for after-school programs that serve 12,000 children in 115 schools. " This is all part of his $2.2 billion bidget deficit in the current fiscal year.

One afterschool program, at Linden's School No. 1, that helps 85 children after school will be closed this friday "after losing its state financing halfway through the year".

Mr. Christie and his education commissioner, Bret
D. Schundler, are expected to cut state aid to individual districts by as
much as 15 percent, and reduce overall school aid for only the second time in
more than a decade. That would probably mean laying off thousands of teachers,
and eliminating a host of extras like after-school and early-childhood education
programs that parents have come to count on.

If the schools had not recieved $1 billion in gederal aid, this "execution" would have occured last year when this whole education problem was starting to sharpen its horns.

'My take is, he’s trying to deal with this,” Mr. Cantrell [president of the New Jersey
Taxpayers’ Association] said of the governor. “I think the reality of
the situation is, it’s such a dire one that there aren’t a lot of choices right
now. Everyone is going to have to sacrifice to resolve this issue, and to say ‘I
should not have to sacrifice’ is just not reality.'

The Linden district, with 6,000 students,
partnered with Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey in 2003 to start the
after-school program at School No. 1. It has since expanded to two other
elementary schools, serving a total of 274 children, most of whom are black or
Hispanic. More than half qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Families pay $250 annually per child for the program; most of the costs are covered by $259,000 in state financing awarded by New Jersey After 3, a nonprofit group that oversees a network of after-school programs (another $51,500 comes from foundation grants). Mark Valli, the group’s president, said that all but 25 of the 115 state-financed after-school programs would close in the next month; generally, only those that can make up the shortfall with district money, corporate grants and donations will stay open.

CA schools needing to change

On March 18Th, the state released a list of "nearly 190 schools that represent the lowest 5 perfect throughout California which are eligible for Title 1 funds and have failed to show adequate progress in student achievement... These schools will be required to implement on of four drastic interventions:

1) close the school

2) transform the school through a series of strategies including replacing the principle and increasing instructional time (most students won't be happy, most don't even like school how it is)

3) turn around the school by replacing the principle and at least half the staff

4) restart the school by closing it and reopening it as a charter school, under a charter school management organization or under and education management organization

...
One high school, one middle school and four elementary schools in the Mt. Diablo district are on the list"

"Exactly how many is a 'hella'"?

In math or science class did you ever hear the words "zetta" or "yotta"? Well you may be hearing the word "hella" as a new term in the math and science world. "Austin Sendek, a UC Davis physics student, has started a petition to establish a new, scientifically accepted prefix, 'hella,'...would indicate 10^27, or 1 followed by 27 zeros." To adults this may seems just plain silly, and to conservative adults, this would mean just another way students can swear. At first, still as a joke, he put up a petition on Facebook and now nearly has 19,000 fans with and increase of about 1,000 fans per day. Of course, with "hella" being (mainly) a Northern California slang word, its getting a lot of popularity on Facebook.

Although it seems like "Hella" will not make it into the science or math world, students, scientists, and some adults would be happy to see it go through

hella can be used in front of so many words i cant even list them, just go
to urbandictionary.com (linked to "hella" page) and just look at the left column!

So what was the point of this particular blog? The point was, hey if you have an idea, try it out, test it out, send it to people to get it out in the world. Don't just let it sit in the back of your head as a "shoulda' coulda' woulda' didn't". As people say "If at first you don't succeed, try try again"!

President Obama's Newest Education Plan

In the below video, News Channel 3, Obama's newest education plan is explained. His new plan will help school districts in states across the country to "cut down on drop-out rates and improve under-performing schools."will t he $900million in grants and another $50 million being given in total to school districts in the United States the "5,000 of the nation's worst school [will get] back on track over the next five years."

One main question that I have about his is, Where is all of this money coming from? Don't we have debt to other countries, oh China for example that we need to pay off??

Different high school=different preparedness for college

A perfect grade at you respective school may not be an A at another school?? This is all news to me. In the article by Katy Murphy, she talks about how high school students, although academically at bar for high school standards, "about 20% of the freshman who enter Cal State East Bay with a 4.0 GPA need at least some remediation in Math, English or both...". Mike Kirst goes on to talk about students in their first few years of college:

In America, high school course content and homework demand and pacing is detached from college. If you’re not in AP classes, it’s really quite dangerous… It’s more common than uncommon” that students feel they are prepared from their college future in high school, but realize that they were wrong.

Worell also goes to comment about how freshman and sophomore students are seeing college:

Worell has spent years working with low-income, minority students and studying
the psychology behind their college experiences. He said they often arrive on
campus and discover they have a year or two of remedial course work ahead of
them. It’s common for them to feel they don’t belong, he said, and to drop out.

How I'm interpreting this article is that now its not only what colleges we go to that will help our future, but now we have to start worrying about what high schools students are going to? because they weren't as prepared because they went to a lower rated school, "where the standards are lower"? That doesn't seem right. I thought there was a law or something that made it so that all should get equal education no matter where from or what race you are.

Schools and learning essential life skills

This blog ties into my latest blog "School Gardens: Good or Bad" and how schools are not just there to teach reading writing and arithmetic. Some of the life skills that should be taught in schools that have to do with gardening is being able to grow some of your own food, how to cook (you don't have to be a chef but atleast try!), and how to save the worlds natural resources like water by using a cistern.

Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post published an article of February 18 where he talks about the "eight essential life skills... [and] their importance and how to teach them".

The first skills that is or should be taught in schools is organization. Not only can this be used in schools but it can also be used throughout ones entire life. In school students use the skills of organization to do their math, and history notes. You may not think of it, but even writing a thorough essay is being organized, because you are not procrastinating. Another example of school organization is finishing an assignment because then you are organizing your priorities and getting your homework done, and then having fun after.

The second skill is the skill of music. No this does not meant that all students should learn how to play in instrument. Kenneth J. Bernstein, a much-admired social studies teacher and is also a piano player says that although students don not have to learn to play an instrument or learn how to sing they

each may need to learn how to listen, because different kinds of music may require different kinds of listening. In a sense, being exposed to several kinds of music is like learning a second language: It begins to empower one to learn further on one's own, because one has gone beyond the limitations of what one grows up with.

Learning to listen, to music and other things, also teaches students to have patience

The third essential life skill is the skill of teamwork. One way that teamwork is taught in schools is with sports. The teammates have to work together to reach their goal of having fun or a goal of winning the game. Frazier O'Leary says that "'Sometimes it is hard for high school students to understand the value of working together until they grow up and realize that teamwork is essential to success'". Teamwork can also help outside of ones school life. For example there are many times in which teamwork can help with your job: joint presentations, meetings, and job proposals with partners are just a few samples of how teamwork is helped in the workplace.

The fourth skill is exercise. This is important because the correct amount of exercise and nutrition keeps ones weight in check, and can help one reach their weight goal. Some of the positive effects that exercise has on the human body is reducing the possibility of getting a disease, or disrupting ones mental state. Regular Physical activity reduces body fat in turn reducing the potential of Non insulin-Dependent Diabetes, Diabetes types I and II, and the growing problem of Obesity, not only in the United States, but the world. Exercising " can improve you mood and the way you feel about yourself. Researchers also have found that exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress.

The fifth Skill is friendship, [and that] "learning to be a friend is what some call social intelligence or emotional intelligence. It includes 'not giving in to peer pressure, becoming self-aware and using that self-awareness to self-adjust as necessary'". This is important for ones life because one always needs friends. Whether it is a person to talk to, or to hang out with. Friendships can make a persons life more meaningful, and can create strong bonds between people that can last a lifetime, and possibly into next lives, if you believe in reincarnation.

The sixth skill is Argument

Bernstein has a favorite trick for teaching this correctly: "I remember once asking students to prepare a debate, three for the affirmative and three for the negative. When they came into class and I checked that they were prepared, I made them argue the other side, not the one they had prepared. With the exception of the class president, who as a politician did not trust me and thus had prepared both sides, they flopped. And in that failure they learned an important lesson: One is far more effective in debate and discourse when one has thought through both sides of an argument."

The seventh skill has to do with being able to think critically. This does not mean negatively criticizing everything. Thinking Critically means being able to analyze what you hear, and to question what you hear/learn. This can help one to decipher between the truth and the false.

The eighth and final skill that should or is being taught in schools is the ability to present things whether it is a song, a project, charts, and many other things. Being able to present these in an organized fashion will make it easier to be understood, and can possibly give you and edge over others in the same work environment.

School Gardens: Good or Bad

An Elementary School in Brooklyn has decided to create a school garden. The first known school garden was "built 15 years ago at a middle school in Berkley California, [and] cost about $75,000".

How much is the Brooklyn school garden going to cost? $1.6 million and "architect's dream"!! Although $1.6 million is alot of money, the money being used to create the new garden will be equaled out by the gardens pros. Some of the gardens pro's is that they will not have to pay for electricity because the building will be powered by solar panels. Another pro that the garden will give the school is that the amount of money that the schoool uses for food will decrease. This is because they garden will be creating food that can be used for the lunches. The compost that will be put into the garden area will also decrease the use of fertilizers, in turn decreasing teh amount of energy that is being used in the world to create the artificial fertilizers. The cistern will also decrease the amount of water that the garden uses because it collects rainwater to be used then, or at a later time when water is less available (a drought).

The Architects have many goals that will use up this $1.6 million. They plan on creating the building that will be powered by the sun, a kitchen with a communal table for the children to share what they have made, and a chicken coop. They also hope to make an area for a compost system, and outdoor pizza kitchen, and a "cistern to collect rainwater." One of the most exciting things that the architects will be creating is a "movable greenhouse [that] will be rolled out each fall."

The Brooklyn Elementary School, with the new garden, hopes to become the "center for study of the environment and agriculture". The school also hopes that the garden will give new learning and teaching experiences to the students and teachers.

Ms Flanagan, a critic, published in The Atlantic and essay titled "Cultivating Failure", where she went on to state that "I have yet to find a single stufy that suggests classroom gardens help students meet the state standards for English and Math". In my opinion, the English and Math standards that were mentioned by Ms. Flanagan, are just to make sure that students are learning the lifeskills of writting, reading, and math. Yes these skills are very important, and should be taught in schools, but they are not the only skills that should be, and are being taught in schools around the world. If not, we would ony be in school for a few hours a day, instead of the 6 or 7 hours that we spend throughout the school week. Some other necessary skills that are taught at schools, is the arts, languages, history, because it can repeat itself, and physical education, which even that is diminshing in schools. But wait, these classes dont "help students meet the state standards for English and Math." Does that mean that they shouldn't be taught in schools?!?! NO!! they should be taught because they are skills that we can use once we are out of school. That's the same with the school garden!

The garden gives students breaks from class so they can concentrate bettwe when they return to class. The garden also will give the students a different, and interesting atmosphere, for students to learn in.Personally at my highschool, we have a garden in which the environmental science class and teh teachers take care of. Each Environmental Science class has their own area to plant different foods. We've learned how to properly weed, plant seeds, prune trees, and many other gardening skills. We also have learned about composting and how to make your own compost. I think this is necessary for students at a younger age, to learn about composting for two reasons. Composting helps save the planet by reducing the amound of compostable waste that is overpopulating land fills, and it lowers the amount of energy used to create chemicals/artificial fertilizers which are bad for the environment and are not as good as natural fertilizers. Its importants for students to learn this becasue then they realize that they don't have to be geniuses to help save the world, all they have to do are simple things like, make your own garden where you can grow some or all of your food. Another possibility to save the earth is to compost which not only saves money, but lowers the amount of environmental damaged done to the earth. And its like the article said, it's not a choice of gardening or education, gardening is education. The students learn how to cook, grow foods, and many other skills that are necessary to one's life.

The homeless

The Homeless, and facts (All of these following facts and statements are from the previous link, and studies taken in and before 2009).

In the United States "Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, and Washington D.C. have the highest rates of homelessness". In 2007, The United States had at least 671,859 homeless people, with the state of California containing 159,732 of the homeless. Of the 159,732 homeless people in California, 29,400 of them were Veterans that were kicked out of their homes.

The recession will force 1.5 million more people into homelessness over the next two years, according to estimates by The National Alliance to End Homelessness. In a 2008 report, the U.S. Conference of Mayors cited a major increase in the number of homeless in 19 out of the 25 cities surveyed. On average, cities reported a 12 percent increase of homelessness since 2007.

In 2009, "One out of 50-or about 1.5 million- American Children [were] homeless

The three main causes of people being homeless is...
The lack of affordable housing
poverty
and Unemployment

Each of these causes can be a lack of education. One can lose their job due to somebody else having a better education, budget cuts, and many other problems.

Do these raising numbers in homeless people, and people becoming homeless have to do with their education, or lack thereof, in their life?? I believe that in most cases, that include children, it does. With children that grew up homeless, most did not have an education because their parents were not able to pay for it. What I mean by this is that since their parents were homeless, they couldn’t pay for clothes, books supplies, food, for their children to go to school every day, they also may not have the luxury of clean clothes every day. Their lack of education creates a domino effect in their life because with no a small or nonexistent amount of education ,they are unlikely to get high paying job, or even a low paying job, they also, because of little to no education, will not have the social skills to interact in the world. The lack of education, no job, and low social skills, can lead them to a life of always being homeless. For adults, education was not always their problem, which led them to their financial downfall. Their downfall could be a result of bad choices like gambling, or non-wise investments. Their financial collapse can also be due to loss of job, as stated earlier, or being demoted, going down the ladder instead of up.

One thing that I think will lower the amount of people who are homeless, not only in the United States, but in the world, is educating the homeless. Giving them their education gives them the chance to get a job, a house, and a continuous paycheck, inturn getting them out of the "homeless catagory".

Writting on a desk and arrested?!?!

Now we all know from school that we aren't supposed to write on desks, but getting arrested from doodling on your desk?!?! This particular school says that they were just following protocol! How can a schools protocol be if one writes on their desk, they get arrested! It's a little extreme!!

Students go to school to learn, Mathematics, History, English, Languages, and ART. But wait, isn't art encouraging people to draw, and can't that sometimes lead to people doing graffiti?!?! Does this mean that we need to get rid of Art classes and schools!! HECK NO!! Yes for drawing on her desk, she should have been punished, but not be arrested! How about some old school, clean all the desks in the room, or having to write down (on a piece of paper of course) to the teacher, why you felt compelled to draw on the desk, or just plain old detention!?!?

community service blog 1

I have three ideas for my community service

Tutoring

math tutoring

working at a childrens center

through the senior community service trips

I do not know which one(s) I will be doing, but i have a feeling that they will end up being about education

Budget Cuts

even more schools are having to resort to 4 days a week school weeks, because of not having sufficient funds