War On Students Pt.2 “The Lottery Analysis”

 

 

The lottery was very hard to sit down and watch for me as an African American and someone that is striving for higher education. The truth behind the documentary is something that we as American’s try to put on the back burner. Education is the most important key to success in America. So I find it very hard that state funded schools with a major majority of their students being low income, graduate with not being able to read.  I feel like this is a very often occurrence a lot of the low income students just slip through the crack’s because no one has established an equal opportunity for them to succeed.

Trying to bridge the achievement gap is a goal that everyone would love to see happen but nothing is ever as simple as it sounds. The charter schools make a very strong argument that they are a first step to bridging the gap. I like the idea of creating more charter schools because the stats on most are more than satisfying. I believe that if a public school like the one shown in the movie is not preforming as expected then they should be shut down and turned into a charter school. It’s silly to keep an under-performing school to keep operating knowing that kids just go along not grasping simple fundamentals. America has always seen that innovation is a great thing and helps us advance so why not convert more schools into charter schools and see where it takes us.

On the other side of things I do not like the fact of having lottery drawings to choose which students can go to that charter school. I feel as if every child should be able to go to a charter school if they want to. If the problem is not enough space then they should be able to take over a low preforming bigger school. The main point is that the students will benefit from this change and be able to receive a better education. But this also goes back to another point if there were more charter schools they would not be an issue of not having enough room for children and it would eliminate the drawings.

I think that the days of a traditional school are on the verge of not existing anymore with the pressure of competing with other countries it’s almost certain that we have to do something about educating the youth. This means that the attention needs to be more focused on allowing educational growth for all children not just the rich and the one that can afford to send their kids to better schools. We have been through educational reforms in the past with the same concepts and tricks so why not give charter schools a chance to help our students achieve more than they would in a regular traditional school.

When reviewing this movie there was not a very strong argument to keep traditional schools around. Nothing stuck out to me that we should keep traditional schools around all I heard was that it was unfair to the parents which I don’t believe. The parents should want the best for their child. If that means letting a charter school come into your old school so be it that could start something much more important than your selfish wants. One of the parents said we should give the low preforming schools a chance to straighten up get it together but as we all know it is only a very few schools that have actually done that. And when they did change things around it took more than a year or two so by that time you have kids missing most of what they need to learn to help them reach higher education.

Johnathon W.G.Williams I

A Black College Student’s Sermon

By: Marcus L. Page

Like every person in this world there comes a harsh lesson from reality especially, if you’re black in college. That lesson is how to go forward, if going backwards is much easier or to rather fall by the way side when everyone else has privilege or appear to have natural useful skills than you.
So if reality is so hard to deal with, especially if you are black college how do you keep your faith of going forward into the future? How do you stay motivated to not lose the stride you worked so hard for? What is the PURPOSE of being? What makes you tick?

Being a(n) black college student myself, I find it difficult some days to even wake out of my own bed. Asking myself what’s even the point anymore? Our nation is in a terrible state of economic crisis. Our 44th President looks more worried and stressed, than when he campaigned about change and hope for America. College tuition is becoming harder to afford on your own even with loans. Nowhere to find work, when the Now Hiring sign is faced in the window with loud red writing, but must meet the qualifications of an MBA to a Doctrine graduate. How can anyone live like this in this day in age?

Then I look up at the blue sky with a limitless amount of space, than I look back down and around. I start to think in a positive manner. I begin to think in a theological concept from my upbring. Then I think of my culture’s historical overcoming of heartache, burdens, and struggles, positivity starts to rebuild the energy to go on.
I start to envision historical black figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. C.L. Franklin (Aretha Franklin’s Father), speaking to the public or giving a sermon of empowerment. Than as this image grows bigger, I see myself being honored to speak in front of college peers, graduates, along with Dr. King and Rev. C.L. Franklin seating behind me to hear me in a theological rhythmic pattern:
Don’t ever give up on tomorrow on what you can do today. We are a nation of millions that can never be held back. In these dark times we must not let despair cloud our judgment of goals and accomplishments. Paraphrasing, Dr. King who once said, “To believe in yourself and believe that you are somebody. The dictionary said that the definition black is evil and ugly, but I want to get the language right tonight. I want to get the language so right that everyone will cry out, yes I’m black and proud of it. I’m black and I’m beautiful.”
Aretha Franklin sang a song with so much strength and passion she called it, “Young, Gifted, and Black.” Even in our troubled days, look at the pigmentation of your skin and read the never-fading tattoo, Young, Gifted, and Black.

We must and will overcome our turmoil of a troubled world. As we face the difficult days ahead, we must remember the immortal words the soulful singer Sade who once said that you have to, have a bullet proof soul people tend to be like lamb, but we must intend to live like a lion. Dr. King had a dream, but I come to tell you that we are the living vision of his dream. Neither man, nor any nation can hold any individual down when there being will push them to a limit and beyond.

Hold up we talking about Health Care Reform!

Introduction

As of June 11, 2010 there are 45 million uninsured Americans in the United States. President Obama proclaimed that the landmark law will require that all Americans will carry health insurance coverage. But the Republican Party says this is a betrayal of the will of the American people. This law will extend coverage to about 32 million of the nation’s 45 million that’s uninsured. This policy has made conservatives argue that the government has no right to require individuals to purchase insurance. The impact this will have on my life means that I will be required to carry health insurance after the age of 26 so I will have to be prepared to take steps in making sure I am insured.  This essay will show the public concerns of this Reform and how it will affect the lives of millions. This essay will also show how this landmark law will affect the nation’s economic statues and what that means for policymakers.

The Problem

            President Obama stated that we must address the cost of health-care in our nation he said we have to do something about making health-care affordable. “High-cost health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds” (Obama p. 390). The premiums have grown substantially faster than wages and are causing an average of 1 million Americans to lose their health insurance coverage. Currently “we pay about $250 billion a year for employer subsides, and most of that goes to higher income people” (McClellan p.377). Policymakers are having a hard time trying to figure out why the current Medicare taxes the middle and low class families more than that of the higher class families. The new landmark law created will change the current Medicare tax from current middle class families 2.9% and higher class 1.1% to middle 2.9% and higher 3.2%. This is a 2.1% increase on tax for the higher class families which policymakers believe will help solve middle class families being able to have coverage.

Steffie Woolhandler argues “If the bill works as planned there will still be 23 million uninsured people in 2019, of whom about a quarter will be illegal immigrants”(woolhander p.377). This brings up another problem that many who get insurance will be underinsured because of the simple fact that 16 million of  the newly insured would be enrolled in Medicaid. Many doctors do not accept Medicaid because of the lower payments. The significance of this is that many will be allowed to go to the emergency room but they will have trouble getting primary care for conditions like high blood pressure. Another argument that arises is that forcing employers to offer health insurance. The National Federation of Independent Businesses say’s “It’s a bad idea anytime but is particularly destructive in the current economic environment”. Making policy maker’s question, how can we let Americans be insured through the company when the company itself is struggling. The big picture here is that small businesses will be halted in growing if they have to insure all their employees.

What undeniably persuaded policymakers to act was the public government run health insurance plan proposed by professor Jacob Hackler from Yale university. This plan would compete against the public option plan which would allow the creation of more jobs and help out small businesses. The idea of people experiencing breaks in insurance coverage would improve health and trim some cost. According to Mathematica Policy Research “adults with continuous insurance are healthier and at lower risk for premature death than those who have intermitted coverage” (p.381). This idea of substantial coverage pushed policymakers to act and speed up the process of health care reform in the United States of America.

The policy Response

            There are several new laws put in place by congress due to the policy response and the pressure to reform health care. One of the new laws put into place is the High Risk pool this will insure that people with preexisting medical conditions are able to afford insurance. Conservatives feel that by allowing this all we are doing is creating an excuse for government to be involved in health care. Senator Orrin hatch said “the bill’s so called individual mandate, requiring everyone to purchase insurance is unconstitutional”(Hatch p.378). Another law put into effect is the Young adult coverage this allows people under the age of 26 to be covered under their parent’s health insurance. Policy makers see this as a good thing because it limits the young people not being covered it will end a cycle of families not being covered.

The benefit limits had to be altered because in the past, people with serious illnesses were almost forced to lose their coverage due to lifetime limit of the dollar value on their coverage. Along with benefit limits there is Medicaid expansion that allows states to offer Medicaid coverage to all poor people. Now this is a big issue with Republicans politicians and republicans in general. They argue that federal spending will explode. Rick foster say’s “federal health spending will rise by 311 billion by 2019 thanks the law”(Foster p.392). The projections republicans have say that this part of the law will cost 2.5 trillion over a decade.

Policy makers think the solution to the success of small business is in this law called Business tax credit.  This will allow small business whose workers annual wage is under 50,000 get tax credits if they provide health insurance. There is also regulating insurance premiums this law states that insurers report the proportion of premiums dollars they spend on medical services. This will establish a process for judging annual premium increases and if they are justified.

Conclusion

            In conclusion the policy to make Obama health care reform in affect has a lot of conflict along with it but it is clear to see that all the arguments posed about it are coming from the conservative side of the line. Many of the arguments are good points but the statistical evidence for the pros side because the policy makers to put in affect these laws that I went over.  This issue of making health care more affordable has been a common interest with the public and policy makers presidents from Bush to Clinton have tried to debacle this problem with little options to go. Obama’s health care seems to be a little more in depth because we have little to no choice in changing how we do things all we need is for the republicans and conservatives to get on board.

The biggest law put into effect that will have the most significance would have to be    to me the young adult coverage law. This is something I have been worried about with more people going to college due to the economic state we would see an increase amount of young people not insured. You would be asking young people to pay for insurance on top of trying to pay tuition at an early age. But seeing how the law states that we can be under our parents insurance till the age of 26 is great it takes away a burden for a little while and I can focus on trying to pay for school.

I can also see the benefit limits being a big impact on my life because of the simple fact that you never know when a serious illness is going to be placed upon me it can happen at any time. So in knowing that if this is the case my insurance cannot drop my coverage because it is an ongoing illness. These new laws put into place supporters say puts in place mechanisms for coverage expansions. In other words these new laws will pave the way to helping to come up with a healthcare reform that will benefit many not if all Americans.

Johnathon W.G. Williams I

The War On Students a review of No Child Left Behind.

In 2000, the Bush administration saw the need for an absolute reform of our nation’s education system. What the Bush administration came up with was the No Child Left Behind act this Act was highly supported by the bipartisan party in congress. With the support of congress, the act spread throughout the educational leaders making NCLB a prominent choice in how to reform education.  The basic parts of NCLB that many people thought would help consist of higher standards for math and reading and yearly testing. On May 23, 2001 Senator Ted Kennedy passed the bill for NCLB that later on President Bush would sign into law on January 8, 2002.  When this became law, state funded schools had a choice whether to put this act in affect, But in actuality they were forced to implement to the NCLB. If the schools wanted more money, they would have to support and follow all of the limitations that go along with NCLB. Many of the provisions of the act first seemed reasonable at first. For example, one provision requires schools to give (AYP) Adequate Yearly Progress test which evaluates students and teachers. The teachers would also have to finish all of their teacher certification requirements by a given time. The most controversial provision requires where all ethnic, socioeconomic and special education groups must meet different proficient levels. The NCLB was a great proposal for reforming education, but it turned out to have the opposite effect on solving the problem with education in America.

No Child Left behind Act has limited the number of permanent qualified teachers in the classrooms. Since 1970, the Hoover Institute’s Koret Task Force on Education has seen a decline on SAT test scores: “Since 1983 more than 10 million students have reached their senior year with no basic reading and 20 million have advanced to the twelfth grade without basic math fundamentals” (U.S Department of Education). Clearly the standard of teaching in America is not working.  When first looking at the reason why the quality of education was on the decline, many scholars wondered if it was because of the quality of teachers we had. Based on a recent statistic “22 percent of all high schools students take a course from a teacher without even a minor in the subject” (Bracey 9).This means teachers are teaching subjects they do not have experience in. In NCLB one of its biggest provision was that teachers would be have to either have or finish all there teacher qualification requirements to be a permanent teacher.

As an onlooker this was an understandable request, so many teachers agreed to this; little did they know the stress that would be placed upon them. While interviewing Erica Jordan Thomas, a teacher under NCLB, she says “ It is very stressful having to prepare students for a test that determines so much, while on the other hand trying to get fully certified you almost hit the point of giving up”(Thomas).If the teachers are stressed out how do you think the students feel?  Students feed off of teacher’s which results in low test scores. In the NCLB act it says that teachers would be evaluated on how well the students do on the Adequate Yearly Progress test. While most teachers have not finished all of their requirements it adds on the pressure of trying to prepare students for the AYP and finishing certification which both have timelines. Many of our schools are understaffed and do not have enough teachers NCLB makes it harder to focus on bridging the achievement gap because they make it difficult to become a teacher. The provision has drastically hurt the school systems. NCLB forces the certified teachers to resume more positions because of the restrictions placed on under qualified teachers. These problems make it harder for children to excel in the classroom and lead to a percent of what is wrong with our educational system.

The Adequate Yearly Progress test was a substantial change for many of the nation’s schools. The incentives offered by the NCLB caused various complications for the education systems. The purpose for the AYP is to annually follow the progress of academic success of the students. This was also appealing to educators since it brought funding and exposure to the schools.. Little did the schools know, but the NCLB would make the schools more accountable which lead to more complications. The limitations with the AYP had a drastic effect on classroom performance. Chrisanti Haretos an education reviewer states that “Accountability in education has been described as a tripod made up of standards” (Haretos 30). This means education has been turned into three units of standards. The standards put into place were that students in third through twelfth grade had to be tested yearly and had to meet a required proficient level to be promoted to the next grade.

Schools as a whole would have to meet a school wide proficiency level as well.  With the pressure of schools trying to meet the standards set by the state, the focus turned from teachers taken time on concepts to rushing to cover material that will be on the AYP test. NCLB made it clear that schools must meet these standards as author Timothy P. Crisafulli says NCLB “puts the careers of tenured teachers and administrators at risk. It does this by setting unreasonable standards and then calls for the termination of educators when they fail to meet those standards” (Crisafulli 613).  With the need for extra funding and the need to keep tenured teachers there has been cases of teachers helping students cheat or gain an advantage to do well on these test. If a school fails to demonstrate academic proficiency under the NCLB, they could be labeled as failing schools and be on the verge of termination. The problem with this is national schools are underfunded and just do not have the resource to help the students be prepared for the AYP test. As a result, there is a rise of schools that have been labeled failing schools and are struggling to meet the standards; NCLB has created a problem that threatens education for many rural states.

With all of the requirements put in place NCLB, the classroom learning environment has taken a hit for the worst. In 2007, a study was taken to see how the NCLB act affects the classrooms. Many of the creators of NCLB predicted that the class would be more attentive and be better behaved. A recent study shows “When administering a state standardized assessment test, both the student and teacher’s emotions naturally embark on a heightened alert due to their perception of the high stakes”(S Ruston, A Ruston 90). The high expectation made from NCLB put unwanted tension to the classroom not only do the teachers reacted to it so do the students. If a teacher is in jeopardy of losing their job due to low test grades, the teacher is going to spend less time on a subject to focus on all the test material. Some students need extra time on certain subjects but when they don’t receive it they get left behind and give up.

When a student gives up because of a lack of understanding on a subject, they often end up being a distraction to other students. It is apparent that “Both arts teachers and non-arts teachers believe instructional time and classroom practices have been altered in the district to accommodate NCLB requirements” (Spohn 5). When the classroom practices are altered students have a hard time reacting, so when teachers stop using innovative methods to fit NCLB, students get bored and end up becoming distractions. When talking to a former teacher, she say’s “As a teacher you know when a student is struggling, when you let it go you start to see the behavior problems arise” (Erica Jordan Thomas, personal interview. 5 Apr.2011). The NCLB has open the door for students to act out giving a student more complicated work only adds to the problems students go through.

No Child Left Behind failed to show mercy on the rural and low income schools making these schools compete with suburban and private schools. It’s no secret that there is a significant difference between private and higher income schools and low income rural schools. With the higher income schools and private schools the limitations of NCLB does not affect them as tough because they tend to have better qualified teachers and better resources. In 2003, David J. Cowen geographer researcher stated that “ Rural schools face unfavorable challenges such as difficulties in recruiting and keeping quality teachers, shortage of funding sources, and geographical isolation, all of which are detrimental to student achievement”(Zhang and Cowen 26). NCLB did not take in considerations that there are differences in the type of schools and how their surroundings can effect a student’s education.

Parents of underfunded and low income schools do not understand how schools with great resources and better teachers can be in the same testing field as there students. When most of the higher income schools keep getting extra funds because they have financial advantage ,it hurts the education system. With majority of labeled failing schools being rural low income schools it’s hard for these schools to bounce back. Since these failing school get labeled the struggles unfold triple time students are more encouraged to drop out, which under NCLB causes these scores to become even worse. NCLB hurts these rural schools because it’s harder to get qualified teachers in under performing schools. No teacher wants to be at school on the verge of shutting down or does not equip them right. Most of the time rural schools are forced to take less than average teachers. In a way No Child Left Behind benefits the wealthier and suburban schools and harms the rural as if this was the plan from the start.

There are plenty of research educators that believe NCLB needs to be discontinued. On September 1, 2009 Diane Ravitch a researcher on education wrote an article called “Time to Kill No Child Left Behind” In this article, it explains the concern that most people have with NCLB after 7 years of being in this system there has been little to no progress. Ravitch research shows that “The number of failing schools grows each year. In the past year, nearly 30,000 public schools—35% nationwide—were identified as failing” (Ravitch 6). Ravitch gained tremendous support with trying to disband the No Child Left Behind act all of the provisions and limitations make it nearly impossible to achieve the goals they had in mind.  You are not going to help reform educations by making more problems than there were before. When looking at comparison scores from 2002 to 2004, you can clearly see that there is a decline in the level of scores. Ravitch made it apparent that it was too late to try and tweak the program: “It’s clear that the program needs to be buried” (5).

NCLB evaluates students’ scores based on ethnicity rather than as a whole school. In the NCLB act it allows to separate the scores based on ethnicity so for example African Americans are one group and Asians are another. NCLB categorizes every single thing and compares it against other ethnicities. You can almost compare NCLB to social Darwinism which is the theory that it’s the world is based on survival of the fittest. The world is naturally based on competition to be the best. Schools are supposed to help you achieve that goal. When the statistics came out it showed that there was a big difference between ethnic groups seeing this, many parents avoided sending their kids to schools that were more diverse this lead to schools with higher populations of the same race and separating students from other cultures. NCLB noticed the difference in socioeconomic statues and ignored it completely. NCLB needs to focus more on the low preforming ethnic groups instead of trying to punish them. In 2002 New York had “86% of failing schools and they were located in the five biggest urban districts, note that the NCLB act makes no attempt to address the funding inequities among rich and poor school districts” (Williams 372). The focus should be more on inner city schools rather than any other subcategory NCLB has.

Although there are many negative things that came out of the No Child Left Behind act, there are a couple of positive benefits. It would not be justified to completely criticize this act when in fact NCLB helped to show inequalities with our education system. NCLB was good at focusing on the problems at the beginning stages of the reform. The problem with the act is that it failed to find solutions after seeing the original plan failed. NCLB did help to show where we could do things different basically it was a good trial and error for American education. There is also some debate that without the NCLB there would not be as much money in the education budget even if it’s poorly distributed. You also cannot deny the fact that due to NCLB, there is an increase in the state run schools participation with the government. Even with the ever revolving cycle of trouble these schools are going through because of NCLB, the communication between state and government has been at it highest it has been in years.

The two positive contributions that NCLB had was improving communication between the schools and the state and making the curriculum more standardized.  Edward C Fletcher Jr. says “NCLB has indeed made a major impact on educational curriculum and instruction in schools across America” (Fletcher 18). The bad thing that stands out is that these are some of the best rebuttals to what educators have to say about the positive effects of No Child Left Behind. It is easy to see why most reformists will gladly be able to put the NCLB act behind them and start over. In 2002, Karen Miller notes what President Bush stated in his state of the union “the era of low standards and low expectations is ending; a time of great hopes and proven results is arriving” (Miller 156). When looking back at the first proposal of NCLB this seem like an easy task to accomplish, but as we see it’s not going to happen off of half way planning.

No Child Left Behind was a promising answer to helping reform our nation’s education system. With substantial backing, this act seemed like it would go the distance and continue to gain support. When this act was first proposed, the incentives alone helped to persuade school districts to enforce NCLB, many schools thought that extra funding would solve all of their problems. they were wrong. After only two years of being in place students, parents and teachers began to get frustrated with this act. The amount of limitations and provisions that came with NCLB weakened the educational system more than it already was. With more than half of the total number of teachers gone from the classroom schools are in dire need for educators. There are more than 60 percent of labeled failing schools in urban and rural areas which lead to more overcrowding schools due to school closers. School zones have to redraw busing lines to reintegrate the school because of NCLB focus on ethnic capability. The stress of having to produce more than possible AYP test scores have driven teachers to the point of allowing students to cheat or even be given answers. All of these things are outcomes of the No Child Left behind act it is hard to believe that an act that on paper looks tremendous could have so many downfalls. It seems like every single section of the act was put to the test and failed with flying colors. It is hard to believe that a small portion of people still support NCLB. If someone would take the time to evaluate every section of NCLB and figure out how to efficiently imply the limitations and provisions so that it would benefit not only just the wealthier schools, this act could have a drastic change in education. The No Child Left Behind act has one more year 2014 until it is not effective anymore. Until then the parents, students and teachers have to be under the control of this ineffective system. We can only hope that once this act is over we can patch up the damage caused by No Child Left Behind and move forward in building America’s educational system.

Johnathon W.G. Williams I