Engage Her: Activating Women and MultiCultural Communities

All my life I’ve wanted to go to college and graduate, get a good job and be successful. In 8th grade, a couple of students from the local high school pointed out that going to community college for two years and transferring to a university is the best and less costly path to take. It was in that moment that I decided to go to a community college and transfer to a university. Just recently, I discovered that the public university system is making it hard for low income people to transfer to a university, such as a UC or CSU. How are people who want to go to a university, but can’t pay for it, going to broaden their horizons or make strides towards the career that they are interested in?

Only 40 percent of California community college students actually transfer. Many people enroll but don’t go through with showing up and actually taking the classes. But the people who do apply to transfer must go through so much, and now that the state is making such huge budget cuts, they must go through even more.

I just don’t think this is fair. Some people who come from very little, who never got what they wanted for Christmas, who are used to hearing their mom say, “We don’t have enough money this year,” who are barely scraping by to get food or pay for rent, depend on a higher education. Some know how their life is going to turn out and want to change their destiny by going to school, getting a good job, and hoping to not make their children (if they have any) hear the same words they heard.

I think university should be more accessible for even the poorest students in California. Why is our country spending more money on sending troops to Afghanistan when they know we need it for the schools and for the youth of America to get the education they need?

A student who goes to Tennyson High School in Hayward, California was recently told that they’re going to close down their high school. Where will the students go? They’re closing down so many schools and then they complain about how they can’t fit most kids in the right classes. The kids aren’t getting the right education. They’re getting packed in classes, and lack the attention they need from their teachers. And if they close down Tennyson High, it’s not going to get any better.

If I was forced to move to a different school, I would be mad. I wouldn’t get the education I need, and that affects me. Not the school board. It’s not just one person, it’s many. As the saying goes “we look to the next generation, because they are our future.” That’s hard to believe because they’re taking the resources we need to become “the future.” It seems like all they talk about is the schools and budget cuts. I understand the schools must cut down on the money they’re spending, and it’s hard. There’s no easy way to cut and still provide ALL the essential things kids need. But at least you still have the power to prevent cramming, provide learning skills that work, and stop laying off so many teachers.
 
Another problem is the no summer school policy. How can kids make up or have a chance to pass the class they failed in? And even if they offer classes at Chabot College in the summer, what if their family is cutting back or doesn’t have the money to pay for it? That student doesn’t have the option to get it right the second time. Yeah, they can take a given class during the school year, but they might not take all the classes they need to earn enough credits to graduate. That’s a huge issue. How about setting up a system similar to summer school but pay the teachers less and have volunteers to help? There are steps that could improve this situation we’re in now.
 
But until then, sincerely
Tina Gerardo

    The government closes schools down all the time; whether it’s for low test scores, poor attendance, or participation – it happens. Word on the street is, they want to close down my school, Tennyson High School. Our teachers are telling us it’s not going to happen, but my mom’s saying she needs to register me for another school. One of my teachers said that they’re spreading this rumor to get students to leave Tennyson, and if more than 300 students leave, they will shut it down; so people are a bit confused.

    I didn’t realize my school was that bad. I mean I knew it was “ghetto” and some of the kids here don’t exactly take their education seriously, but I don’t think the kids who go here now should have to go through this because the ones who already graduated slacked off a couple years back. I love my school, I love the friends I have here, and I love how the teachers would rather swim in a tank full of sharks than let you fail. I’m finally making my parents proud with my good grades and now they want to make me go to a school that’ll be overcrowded, which means the teachers won’t give you the help you need because they have so many other students to worry about. My goal is to go to San Jose State, and I don’t want my chances to be ruined because I was forced to go to a school with teachers who have too many papers to grade and don’t always get to them all. If my school is shut down, consider my future done for.

Dreams are endless for every individual, whether it’s something as simple as purchasing a luxurious car or attending a university to continue his or her education. However, for many, a dream will stay just that: a dream. Illegal students strive for their best, but are limited to what they can achieve due to their alien status. While all documented students continue their pursuit towards a greater education, undocumented students are often prevented in continuing their education due to the restrictions that are placed upon them.

Note that many of these students came to America at a young age. They have learned how to be citizens, and denying them a higher education is quite unfair. These students are not criminals; most have very high GPAs that are higher than those of legal citizens. These kids are the future, and could help raise the economy. Hopefully, the DREAM Act can pass, so these students can fulfill their dreams.

“Why is education so important? Education is a self-enlightening process. It is an important component of life. Education is knowledge gain.”  Education is power.

Every time I think about why education is so important, I remember when I was young; growing up with hardship and striving to attend school, I believed that education would help me to have a better life.  Once I finished college, it lead me to have an opportunity to land a better paying job, a job that lead me to the career I love and the pay I want. 

“Education is important because it prepares us with all we need to make our dreams come true.  Education opens the opportunities of great careers. It brings out better prospects in career and growth.”  Nowadays, we’re not talking about high-school graduate, associate graduate, not even college graduate.  Corporate America is now talking about MBA graduates to be competitive in the market place.  All companies of today’s business world require prospective employees to be well educated. 

“Schools and colleges define the basic framework of education.  Schooling gives us the fundamentals, whereas we specialize in fields of our interest during the degree courses.  But education does not end here.  It is a lifelong process.  Self-learning begins at the point that marks the end of institutional education.”  Education is not about mathematic equations, scientific formulas, English literature and poems in textbooks.  Education is the process of continuous experience – continuous learning.  It is about what we learn through our experience.  Education is lessons of life.

Work cited: Oak, Manali (2008). Why is Education so Important?

As a high school sophomore, I’m at the point where I’ve started thinking about my future education and where I’m going with my life. I’ve come to realize that I need to start thinking about my priorities because I’d rather think about them now than when senior year hits. By then it’ll be a little too late and things will be rushed. At the time, I’m still unsure what I want to major in and what college I want to attend. Unfortunately, by the time I graduate, which is 2012, it will be extra difficult to attend college. With the economy going down and the price of tuition going up, fewer students will be able to handle the cost. Just this year, some colleges’ tuition went up 32%. Imagine how much it will be in two or three years. By then, the price of a public college will be about the same as a private college.

But other than thinking about my education in a few years, I know I have to maintain good grades now and focus on the present. These are going to be the years colleges will be looking at closely. Being a sophomore, it’s still pretty easy but I know next school year will be a lot more challenging. I’m planning to take as many AP and Honor classes I can and I know that won’t be easy, especially participating in school sports too. I’m also planning to take the spring sociology class that our local community college offers at our school for a head start on college credits, in addition to a summer psychology class at the local community college. I mean, it’s free classes they’re offering and all I have to pay is the cost of the textbook. I’m not going to pass up this opportunity to take classes for free. I know when I graduate, these classes will cost money, so why not take them now? It may seem that I’m thinking about this all too soon, but being in the first generation of college students in my family, it’s never a moment too soon.