Technology Era

Whether you like technology or not, it really is paving the way for our future. As with anything else there are bad and good aspects revolving around it. Most would agree that technology is a positive thing, and that it is improving our lives. Its insane to even think about how much things have changed in the last five years relative to the release of the first Iphone.

The varieties of applications we can use on our Iphones are quite revolutionary. You can pay your my bills, check the weather, send an email, get the score to the Giants game, and much more all within seconds on your phone. What is there not to like about being more efficient? The technology era definitely has some competitive advantages over previous generations in seeking pretty much any information we please, by having the Internet at our fingertips. Our parents would have had to spend countless hours in the library researching, when we have the ability to do it all in seconds on the computer.

There are apparent disadvantages in the increasing demand for technology. It was just release that apple keeps track of all the Iphone users locations, and where they travel. This is most likely done to make some kind of marketing analysis, and they disclose it in the fine print of the contract that no one reads. But this seems a bit invasive of our privacy. Facebook is probably the worst about privacy. People assume that their Facebook pages are secure if they enable certain security options, however prospective employers, and school that you are applying to definitely have access to all you “secure” photos and information. If that prospective employer sees a bunch of photos on your Facebook of you drinking and parting I guarantee that they will think twice about how responsible you are. Essentially those photos can jeopardize whether you get that job or not, even if you are well-qualified candidate. As mentioned earlier about computer access, one has to be carful on the validity of the information we read, a lot of people post junk on the internet that has no relevance to the topic that we made our Google search on. Being selective, and making sure the sites you are using are credible sources is needed.

One might add that these disadvantages make critical thinkers. You really have to analyze what you are reading in order to make sure it is accurate information. In respects to the privacy concerns, it is just a matter of being carful what you post, and what you publicly talk about. This can be applied as a filter on what the outside world gets to know about you personally. It seems that a lot of people lack a filter on what they say or do, what they don’t realize is that people are making judgments on them just based on only what they see, not who you are. It is certain that previous generations had some partying habits too, but it wasn’t publicly displayed, and to be honest I think our generation has taken it to a whole new level, surpassing even the 1960s hippie movement. But that is a completely different topic of concern. On thing that really gets on my nerves is when someone texts you, and you don’t respond instantaneously. People are so off put by this, they can not seem to fathom that you might be doing something else which does not involve your phone being glued to your finger tips. The movie we watched today talked about a multi-tasking generation, which can be helpful and time efficient, although there is something to be said about being fully immersed into what your doing and not constantly having other distractions. It is all a matter of being selective on how we use technology to benefit ourselves. “Everything in moderation” as I am sure we have all heard our parents say. Might be something we want to consider with our use of, cell phones, computers, Facebook, videogames, etc. 

Final thoughts on the "educational system"

Most would agree that education is beneficial to the individual that is learning, and to society as a whole. Furthermore we should have college easily accessible to everyone. In addition to easy access, the tuition at a junior college should be affordable for everyone. Hence why the budget cuts, and increase in tuition needs to stop. Which most of us addressed in our letters to Jerry Brown.

            We need to take things one-step at a time in reforming our educational system as well. So many people seem to bring up issues, but lack a plan to improve them. And if they do have a plan they seem to be extremely radical, such as Gattos plan to home school all the children. Which is Clearly not realistic for many reasons, if we could just start improving school conditions in inner city “urban” areas (including both teacher and facilities) this would benefit them greatly. Then move on to the teaching to the test model. The STAR testing system is not working anymore, it does not provide accurate data, and none of the kids take it seriously. A system with more than one data point to accurately assess school improvement might be a start! 

Jerry Brown

Dear Jerry Brown,

It is pretty apparent that the California public colleges took a huge hit do to the recession, and continuingly with all enormous budget cuts. This current situation is putting California’s great reputation for Junior colleges at risk. For the past two years I have been at Foothill College in Los Altos, CA and have observed drastic academic changes ranging from a massive increase in tuition for students to a major downsize in curriculum. This does not sit well with me.

The first year I enrolled at foothill, I had the option to take geology for my laboratory science requirement, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I went to enroll the following year for the second geology course, the course was no longer available. In trying to figure out why, I discovered that the entire Geology program had been cancelled due to budget cuts. When I took the fist geology class there was a very high demand for this course, I remember students continuously trying to add during the fist week of the quarter. Unfortunately most of them didn’t succeed because the class was extremely full.

A large amount of students attend community college, because it is a much cheaper option in comparison to a UC, state, or private school. How much longer is this cheaper tuition going to be cheap? Where will we draw the line with tuition costs at junior colleges, when they seem to be getting steeper every year? How many students will be denied education before we realize that these steadily increasing prices need to stop. When the cost of gas and everything else in our economy seems to be skyrocketing, why should our education be at risk too? Do to these fiscal increases, it is pretty apparent that people in my generation will need to get a college degree to not only survive, but to stimulate the economy. Given the current circumstances, a lot of people wont have the opportunity to go to college if the cost of education is so high.

The vitality of California students, and our American way of life is being jeopardized. Do you realize what impact this has on the next generation? If we are expected to run the country how are we supposed to accomplish this without a post-secondary education? These budget cuts are limiting not only the number of students who can attend school, but also the level of education. These budget cuts and increased tuition is going to end up eliminating our countries stability and the American way of life. We need to stop this destruction before things get any worse. Reallocation of cost to individuals who can actually afford a small decrease in their net profit might be a temporary solution. 

Education

In my opinion, educational rights should be granted to everyone; just as any other right we receive being American citizens. But it is also evident that we are not all granted equal educational opportunities.  I believe the following points are important:

First, there is no doubt wealthier locations and districts get better educational opportunities.  Wealthier locations seem to offer more opportunities and better infrastructure.  This all comes from the application of affluence.

But, whether in rich or poor areas, good teachers make all the difference. So many teachers just follow the guidelines, grade the students, and move on to the next class. If teachers can try to integrate some kind of interest that your students have for the curriculum that would make all the difference in the class involvement and student engagement.

The economics of teacher compensation really needs to be reformed too.  Although most people do not go into teaching for an extremely lucrative salary they still have to support themselves. So naturally most of the good teachers will seek out the higher paying jobs. The students and teachers that really suffer from this are the urban inner city schools.

There is also responsibility on the part of the students. How can people be taught if they don’t want to learn? It is fair to say that a lot of students don’t seem to want to be in class, by not showing up or coming late and texting on their smart phones the whole time.

One solution to improving post-secondary education could involve transition program that required such students with low GPAs, and poor high school education to take certain classes to better prepare them from more difficult college course. Integration would prepare them, and I think would reduce the drop out rate incredibly.

I am going to explore some of these ideas furthermore in my essay later this week. 

Introduction

Hey everyone, my name is Mike and I am currently a business major. I plan to transfer to a UC School after I complete all my general education and major requirements. After I finish my undergraduate work I would like to either intern at a venture capital firm, or try and get a job at a start-up. I am still undecided on whether or not I would like to go to graduate school. I guess I will have to see what opportunities present them selves after graduation. My dad is the founder of a biotech company, so it has been a life long goal to fallow in his footsteps and start a company of my own one-day. My goals for English 110 are obviously to improve my writing skills, especially concerning grammar and sentence structure. This blog will help me articulate my thoughts on writing, and present any other topics I see fit to share with the public.