Annotated Bibliography

Skelton, George. "Taxes Just Part of Picture; Voter Perceptions and Pensions Also Tie into Brown's Push for Prop. 30." Editorial. Los Angeles Times 30 Aug. 2012, Capitol Journal sec.: A2. ProQuest. Web. 9 Sept. 2012. <http://0-search.proquest.com.library.cabrillo.edu/docview/1036835499?accountid=39584>.

                  Skelton’s editorial on Prop 30 discusses the detrimental effects the proposition will have on   the state of California if it passes this fall. This is done by having the reader look at how the state has managed its past funds and uses that as a credit score to help determine if it is appropriate to keep sending billions of dollars to Sacramento.  Skelton does an effective job persuading the reader to understand his side of the argument by stating some of the former scandals and controversies that detail how the state does its spending.  This article was     applicable to my research because it allowed me to understand the opposing side of the issue, which gives me the opportunity to understand the intricacies of the argument at hand.   

Freeman, Bill. "Prop. 30 Invests In Education, Economy." Editorial. San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/23/tp-prop-30-invests-in-education-economy/>.

                  In Bill Freeman’s editorial on Prop. 30, the author discusses the importance of schooling today and how it prepares our children for new jobs and careers and allows them to become responsible citizens. But when billions of dollars are being cut from school systems, Freeman states that we are impairing these children’s preparation for college and work in the 21^st  century. Essentially, this article does a fantastic job persuading the reader to understand the importance of education and how Prop. 30 invests in our education, which directly invests in our future as a society. This work was applicable to my research because it gave me the opportunity to understand the positive effects this proposition may have on our state.

RR #1

            In John Taylor Gatto’s article Against Schools, Gatto attempts to have the reader realize the harmful effects generated by the current state of schooling.  Gatto himself was a teacher in various schools throughout Manhattan for over 30 years, and uses his experience to justify his views on today’s schooling. He provides examples of accomplished Americans that never completed the twelve years of schooling, such as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, to show how you can turn out just fine without it. Gatto also compares our current schooling system to the Prussian military state, saying it is useful in  “creating not only a harmless electorate and a servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers” (157).

            During his days of teaching, Gatto returned from a medical leave of absence to find out that his job had been terminated and he had no longer possessed a teaching license. He was able to regain his license back after nine months of hard and unnecessary work, but this episode only added to his growing frustration with today’s schools. When he finally retired, Gatto had “more than enough reason to think of our schools - with their long-term, cell-block-style, forced confinement of both students and teachers - as virtual factories of childishness” (153).  All these events and experiences Gatto endured pushed him to finally writing this article in September of 2001, expressing his frustrations with the corruptness of schooling and persuading the reader to join him in rallying to reform the education system.

            Since I am indeed a product of the twelve-year compulsory school system that Gatto argues against, I would have to say I am definitely on his side in terms of pushing for some type of large-scale reformation of schooling in America. I greatly believe that there is ample room for change, as our present structure is based on an early 1900’s industrial society, in which citizens are treated like cogs in a factory and not like the unique individual they really are. We must allow the students the opportunity to take control of their own learning and rediscover the natural curiosity and excitement that comes from gaining new knowledge. Without this type of learning experience, the future citizens will continue to become conformists to the norms of society, which Gatto states, “is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor force,” (156) loosely translating into the corporations wishing to run this country. If one were to deeply analyze the educational system as Gatto has done here, one can understand that schooling was not necessarily created to "educate" the people. Rather, it was created in order to make good people and good citizens out of us all, and to properly oppress society so were all kept at a "safe and manageable" level. While change towards the educational system can be next to impossible to achieve, movements like this take baby steps to initiate, and I believe that reading an article like this would greatly motivate an individual to begin taking those first steps towards change.

Week One

Op-ed article on prop. 30:

http://0-search.proquest.com.library.cabrillo.edu/docview/1036835499?accountid=39584

5. Answer one of the questions at the end of the chapter on any of the assigned readings

John Taylor Gatto: Against School

What, according to Gatto, are the six unstated purposes of public schooling? To what extend does your own prior educational experience support this bleak view of American education?

        The six unstated purposes of public schooling, according to Gatto, are as stated:

1) to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority

2) to make children as alike as possible through conformity

3) to determine each student's proper social role,

4) once a proper social role is determined, the student must be sorted by role and trained only as far as their destination in the social machine merits, and not one step further,

5) to tag the unfit and effectively bar them from the reproductive sweepstakes,

6) to train an elite group of caretakers, who will be quietly taught how to watch over and control a population deliberately dumbed down so that government may proceed unchallenged. 

      

         My own prior educational experience both supports and disproves this bleak view of American education in a number of ways. In terms of tagging the unfit, this was very valid. Those who were labeled as inadequate were placed in lower level classes and tended to hang out with students in those classes, socially separating them from the "average" students and effectively displacing them in society. At the same time, my high school encouraged uniqueness and creativity through its extensive and respected art and music program, and even became the second school in Southern California to become a part of the International Baccalaureate program, which promoted students to look at things through a "world lens." 

6. Summarize the article that you researched on Proposition 30 

        The opinion-based piece I read on proposition 30, written by George Skelton of the Los Angeles Times, attempts to have the reader see a generally different perspective of the proposition than they would normally see. Rather than have it being viewed as a tax-hike initiative, Skelton argued that it would also be the beginning for the destruction of most pension plans throughout the state. "Prop. 30 is not just about paying higher taxes," Skelton says, "it's about pensions, parks and perceptions." While Governor Brown has received praise from the business community for his "unwavering commitment" to reform, people like Dave Low, chairman of a coalition representing 1.5 million public workers and retirees, accused Brown of "taking a wrecking ball to retirement security." Brown's plan of eliminating $100,000+ pensions would cap incomes on which pensions could be based at $110,000 for Social Security recipients or $132,000 for retirees not entitled to Social Security. Retirement ages would also be raised and benefits would (generally) be reduced.

      Skelton is also cautious of how the state government will actually spend the money they receive from the proposition, warning that Sacramento has already showed indications of not properly utilizing their funds. Skelton points to the unpopular $68 billion bullet-train project, bringing up that only $13 billion of funding has been identified. The recent state parks scandal is also mentioned, in which the state government stashed $54 million while telling the public that more funding was needed in order to avoid the closure of many parks. Overall, Skelton is trying to persuade the public to look at how the state has managed past funds and use that as a credit score to help determine if it is right to keep sending billions of dollars to Sacramento.

      While I don't agree with any of this article at all, I'm glad I read it to fully comprehend both sides of the debate so I could form my own viewpoint on the issue with as much information as possible. 

I Am

I am Iman Shahmiri. I am from a suburb surrounding Los Angeles known as Agoura Hills, and I am the descendant of two Iranian immigrants. I am into hobbies like skating, jamming to slick tunes, getting funky at dance parties, lounging in the outdoors, and for some unknown reason, the NBA. I am tech savvy, having (somehow) designed my own website at the age of 10. My gifts I bring to the class are tons of computer and electronic skills, a sweet music taste, an analytical thought process, and a fresh attitude.