Educating California

Dr. Judy Olson
English 101-16
October 28, 2012
The Standard of Educating California
California has always been known for its innovative educational system, but in recent years our rank has been rapidly declining. In “Yuba City School” Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni describes the struggles her son underwent in school simply because English was not his first language and the teacher did not take into consideration his situation. In “A Win-Win for the High School Exit Exam” Sandra Nichols explains that passing the high school exit exam should not be a requirement for students to graduate, they should receive a diploma regardless. In “Cuts Crush College Promise” Lesli A. Maxwell discusses how higher education in California is getting more expensive and harder to come by due to all the budget cuts. Education should be a priority in California because not only are the youth the future visionaries of the country, we as a society have a standard of excellence that must be upheld in order to maintain progress.
Education is an essential part of the American Dream, and should be attainable for all who avidly seek it. Unfortunately, many immigrant families discover nothing but rejection and indifference from the American schools. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells us of a young boy by the name of Neeraj, a boy whose family immigrated to America for a chance at a better life, that gets placed in the back of the classroom for not knowing or understanding the language and he cannot learn because the teacher is “far up in front” and “makes word sounds that he does not know”(223). Like my family I am sure that Neeraj’s parents wanted to come from India to seek a better life and better education for their children. Neeraj reminds me a lot of my dad based on the stories he tells me from when he came to America. He did not know the language and at first he was put into a class room where the teacher did not care about teaching my dad the language or any of the other concepts. However, my father’s older brother grasped the language very well and ended up talking to the principle and getting my dad into a classroom with a very caring and patient teacher. It is important for our society to remember our sacred tradition of tolerance, especially pertaining to children, and to incorporate equality into our education system.
Tolerance and equality with young children is important because one day, they won’t be young children anymore, they will be teenagers and held to a higher standard. The California high school exit exam poses as a proverbial standard for students to strive for, and if ignored sets a substandard example to students. The High School Exit Exam is a test that high school students must pass two parts of, a Math and English section, in order to receive their diploma. A startling number of students are not passing the exit exam, as Sandra Nichols explains, “Only 60 percent of the class of 2004 have passed the math section of the HSEE” (P.204). High school students have been having a really hard time passing this test and are being unable to graduate school. I was fortunate to have gone to Catholic school from kindergarten until I was in the ninth grade. I had really good teachers and they spent time making sure every student grasped all the concepts no matter what we were learning. So when I finally transferred to a public school in tenth grade the year I had to take the High School Exit Exam, I did really good and got one of the highest scores in my school. I remember all my friends having to take the exam over and over until they passed or they would not be able to graduate. I think they would have done better on the test if they would have had better education growing up. I am not saying it is all the teachers’ fault that these children were not learning or could not pass the test, but it is inevitably clear that passing the high school exit exam is necessary to improve our schools and establish a standard for students to strive for. Everyone should have access to a great education like the students in Parochial schools, because then the state wouldn’t feel obligated to let everyone graduate even if the students do not pass the High School Exit Exam. Scholar Sandra Nichols elaborates on her proposal regarding the graduation process for students who do not pass the High School Exit Exam, and the reward for students who do pass would receive a certification on their diploma, and she believes that this plan is “far wiser than dumbing down tests and far more fair to students who have passed the test, this proposal would be a win-win for all” (205). I did really well on the High School Exit Exam, but even students who have not gone to Prochial schools have excelled on this test. Why should students who have not passed the High School Exit Exam get to graduate with the students who worked hard to pass this exam? It is called the High School Exit Exam for the purpose that you must pass the exam to exit high school. “Dumbing down” the exam would send a message to students that they are not expected to meet expectations, and therefore it as crucial for the government to remain unmoving in the structure of the high school exit exam. Students that have worked hard in studying and learned all the concepts on the High School Exit Exam are preparing themselves for college. Lesli A. Maxwell describes the high number of students graduating and how it is affecting colleges, “As the economy languishes, California high schools are churning out record numbers of graduates, prompting an enrollment boom at public colleges that educators call Tidal Wave II” (208). As more and more students pass the state’s exit exam and graduate high school they are seeking higher education. California is having so many high school graduates that there is not enough room or funding in the public colleges. The ones that do however get accepted into the public colleges are expected to pay the high tuition rates, that were one every inexpensive, that the University demands. Students work hard in high school to get to college, I know I did, to not be able to go because they cannot afford it. Money should not be the reason why a student cannot seek or receive higher education. Money is a big reason that students cannot receive a higher education and the state is not doing much to help that by continuously making budget cuts to the public colleges. Whenever the state has extra money they want to give it to the schools and they are all for making improvements to the educational system, but as soon as they are in need of funds they want to make budget cuts and take from the schools, as Maxwell explains, “the pattern in California has been that we spend lavishly on higher education when times are good, and in bad times we cut it ruthlessly” (210). This is a quote that really speaks to me. It is something I have been thinking about for quite some time and constantly asking why? Now that I am in college it troubles me even more to think about how much money they are taking from higher education. As a child growing up, I was always told that the children are the future. The future looks grim if the children of the past do not have access to an education or are unable to pay for education because of the ongoing budget cuts and the yearly tuition heights that scare some students away. Education is not the first place where funds should be cut because then it becomes harder for people to seek a good education. If California truly cares about their educational system they should work harder to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity even if English is not someone’s first language. Everyone deserves a good education, regardless of whether or not the student is an immigrant, attends a Prochial school, or is enrolled in public school. Our government should work harder to ensure that students do not need to go into debt trying to pay for higher education, and it should instead be affordable. When it comes to higher education, money should not scare students away from seeking higher education; alternatively the state should find other places to make budget cuts so that the school and students are not the only ones who suffer. As long as California stays focused on encouraging students to meet the standards set by the exit exam, tolerant in their treatment of immigrant children, and financially considerate of students’ plight, then our education system will begin to improve.