PROPOSAL

Title: A Change For The Better or For The Worst?
Author: Alex Uribe
Date: 9/27/12

  Proposition 30 can be very confusing in your decision with the vote, because of the many different opinions you can find. Me myself chose to go against the proposition because of the facts I found out. Going against it came in my best will and it is the best choice for others as well.  I am sitting down and writing this to inform voters about the negativity going on with the upcoming proposition taking effect in the ballot in November 2012. This proposition carries some good and bad outcomes with it, and we have to choose witch is the best choice. We have to ask ourselves: Is voting yes the best choice or not? We have to think outside the box in how it's really going to play it's role. The intended audience in my op-ed is college students and other California voters who are not fully informed with this proposition. My purpose towards my opinion against this proposition is to change the students and voter's point of view, and decision on proposition 30. By trying to change their point of view hopefully the votes against it will rise. This topic matters because our governor is just trying to overplay us by saying that the revenues from the tax hike will go towards schools when it is not guaranteed, and by threatening voters by saying that if the proposition doesn't pass it will cause serious cuts in the educational systems.  These threats come in hands of the politicians to try and have their proposition pass by scaring the voters into voting for it.


 LOGOS- The logical reasoning that i will use in my op-ed is that Prop.30 is just a gamble or should I say a "Shell Game" as they mention in an argumentation against the proposition. This is a gamble because us as voters we don't know exactly what will the outcomes end up to be if this proposition passes. They claim to fund the money for schools, but there is numerous claims against that. As op-posers we feel like the politicians are just trying to pass this massive tax hike to pocket some money to replace other debts the state has. Also there is no real re-forms towards the educational funds, which makes me ask if they are just trying to screw over the California residents.

ETHOS- I think I am credible as a speaker of this argument, because I researched a few different opinions, and it seems like these facts are very reasonable against this proposition. There are a few different reasons why this proposition shouldn't pass, and by listening to the opposing team of this proposition you will find out more about the truth behind the government and politicians words on the proposition.

PATHOS-As a student in California like many of others, we have to worry about the future that relies on us. By raising taxes we will face even worse financial problems than a lot of us do already. Our state has the nation's highest sales tax, and they still want to bump it up a quarter cent more, that does not sound like a good plan. Some of us have families to support, and some with newborns or toddlers. Just imagine the diaper an wipes expense. In the aftermath they add up to be very expensive, and to top it off you still have other expenses. For example, gas, food, clothes, school supplies, rent, and many other personal bills. Most of us, and probably all don't make more than 250k a year, so we don't pay attention to the income tax raise, but the sales and use tax we have to focus on.

Annotaded Bibliographies

SOURCES -http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/factsheets/Prop_30_fact_sheet.pdf
               http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig-public-display/110612-general-election/prop-30/prop-      30-arg-against.pdf
              http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/proposition-30-survey.html

PROPOSITION 30 OUTLINES:
         Proposition 30 has a few destinations with their Tax increasing fund. The plan of this proposition will be to: Increase personal income tax on residents of the state of California who make over 250k a year for a seven year length: Increase California sales, and use tax by a quarter cent for a period of four years. The predicted outcome to this proposition will aim to raise billions of dollars over the following seven years which are claimed to be spent on schools from K-12, and community colleges as well. (The percentage will be 89% for K-12 and 11% for the community colleges). In case the proposition would fail it will cause a $250 million trigger cut to the UC system, but if the proposition does not pass they argue that it will cause them serious depth in budget cuts of up to $6 billion, and for which they need to pass prop 30.                        http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/factsheets/Prop_30_fact_sheet.pdf

  AGAINST PROPOSITION 30:
         The arguments between the voters who are against it say it is not the road to take. They mention how it's just another gambling role game from the politics. They mention [NO ON PROP 30: it is only a $50 billion "shell game" and doesn't GUARANTEE new funds for schools]. The opposing party explains how the massive tax hike will just be a part of recovery to other over spends. They state that not a single penny is guaranteed to go to schools, and believe the politicians will not spend the money where they are expected to, because of other past missing reforms. The prop 30 op-posers will continue to try to vote no on this proposition.
                       http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig-public-display/110612-general-election/prop-30/prop-      30-arg-against.pdf

    PROPOSITION 30 SURVEYS:
          As the days go by, and the big day comes closer to vote for the proposition. A survey was taken to view the percentage of votes. This survey was updated on 9-20-12. While reviewing the votes they recognized that some of the prop 30 voters seem to be having second thoughts about their vote in favor of proposition. There was a 51% of the estimated voters is in favor of the proposition. This percentage dropped from a 54% that was recorded earlier. The opposition was viewed as a steady 36%, and the undecided was stated at 13% while in July that percent was only 8. This has come to the attention of voters because it's a very complicated vote. There is a similar proposition that is on the same process, which is Prop 38. This proposition only changes a few details. If both propositions are voted ‘YES’ it can cause serious problems to our state budgets, because of the different intents they both have.
                http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/proposition-30-survey.html

Reader Response #1

 SUMMARY
      

       In the article "Against School", by John Taylor Gatto, he argues about the wrongfulness being caused by the organization of our nation public school system. Gatto overlooks in how our school system's role has been working from past to present, and wants the reader to be informed about the whole process of the students statistics are as they age during their twelve year public school period. He states a lot of information on how students play a role as being products, and how he doesn't think its necessary for our school system to school us for the twelve years they make us finish regardless. Gatto also explains how it's torture for kids having to victimize this experience with no choice, and how this creates boredom for the kids as well as for the teachers in the schools. He believes schools have turned our children into addicts, and into children, because they never really grow up in his point of view.  Something very unusual is that  Gatto used to be a teacher in New York City, in the schools of Manhattan for thirty years. He retired in 1991, when he got dismissed as a teacher, and was prohibited to obtain a teaching license, for which is when he started having doubts about the way of operation of our school system..

CONTEXT                                                                                                                                    
     This article was written under the circumstances to try to make the general public have second thoughts about our school system. Gatto has a lot of personal obstacles against the school system, so he decided to write against it. One concern he has is that schools don't have to force our children to go to school five days a week for nine months a year, for twelve years like they have been doing to make our children successful. Gatto believes the educational system is Prussian origin, and that is one main concern. He looks into how mass schooling began to achieve their goals between 1905 and 1915 by pushing the forced schooling on our children. In his opinion schools are factories who shape and fashion our kids as if the were products, and he believes it's very wrong. He looks back at the eighteen century, and finds out all the successful people in that era didn't even go to high school, so it encourages him to make this argument. 

OPINION                                                                                                                                           
                 Schooling our kids for twelve years is necessary in our society in my opinion. It is not torture even though it is challenging. I think we manage our education pretty well compared to other country's. By the school system educating us as much as they can we become more successful in life, and we learn more things about our nation that can help us out a lot. I think the twelve years of schooling are necessary, because learning is not something you can do over night. Learning takes time, for which we go to college if you wish for after you are done with those twelve years. Education can be challenging whether your in Elementary School or College, but our nation does pretty well at handling it. Our country's education is very well organized, for which we are the leading nation in the world. By going to school people become smarter and gain knowledge power over other not-as-educated people. I disagree with Gattos argument for various reasons, and I think we definitely need our school system to be the way it is.                                                                                                                                 

     

Week One

The poem titled "PARA TERESA ", written by Ines Hernandez-Avila was written in Spanish and English for a couple different reasons in my opinion. One reason is because, upon the date of when this poem was written, we are clear it took place somewhere in the late 1950's.  All these girls who are mentioned in the poem were described as wearing such items as: the teased hair, dyed-black-but-reddening hair,full petticoats, red lipstick and sweaters with  sleeves pushed up, because they were the next generation of the Zoot Suiters from the LA RIOTS that took place in California in the mid 1940's. Here are some images of  the dress codes of women and men during that period. 

This was the style back in those days, and since it got so popular they even had a picture painted in a book cover of Marilyn Monroe wearing one. Another reason is, because when it took place they would be really proud to stand out as Mexican American Women, and I believe  she wanted to write as if she was educating other Chicanas about our history, of our past, because now these days there is a lot of Chicanas that don't know their roots, and it really sucks not knowing your racial history in my point of view.  She also wanted the reader to be able to imagine how it was walking in their shoes at the time, and relate to her somehow.  I also think she wrote in spanish because the name of the school which she mentions "which-had-to-be-its-name" is named Alamo Elementary. The Alamo was the Mexican-American war that occurred in the 1800's in San Antonio Texas, for in my opinion she feels like she has to write in Spanish on top of everything else. I think that because if I wrote a story or whatever, and grew up in the 1950's, and my schools name is named after something very important to Mexican history I would definitely write in Spanglish.      

I am

  I am a nice and respectful person. I could be quiet sometimes, or i could be loud depending on how my day is going. I am always looking forward to learning something new, and to gain more knowledge. I am not stuck up even if you might think I am. I enjoy meeting new people, and having conversations about our backgrounds to compare our differences, and similarities. I consider myself as a hard working guy, because I work five days a week, go to school, and I am a full time father as well. I had my daughter when I was only sixteen years old. I graduated from Pajaro Valley High School in the city of Watsonville in 2011. Now I am nineteen, and living the life of a twenty seven year old, but I think I am managing it pretty well. I am considering criminal justice as my major, because  I want to become a police officer, and still go to school to try and earn a business degree to own my business and retire as a police officer.  I would like to go to a state university after I complete all my transferable units, and of course after I graduate from the police academy. San Jose is the city I am going to try to work for, and if not I have in mind somewere inside Santa Clara County.  A gift I am bringing to the classroom is my attitude, and my help. My attitude is always good, because I don't like acting rude if my day is going bad like a lot of other people do. I am also always available to help anyone if I know I can.