April 5 Funding Poetry-George

Education in America is a funny thing.
Because of varied standards, you can be the king
Of one institution, and a naive child in another situation
And our teachers are so underpaid
For the work they contribute
To the Future of WORLD
Funny thing is how America downgrades
Its education and pay tribute
To prisons and war swirled
In party politics
We want a nationalized standard with a curriculum
that prepares us for life
Just like Finland and Singapore
But Education in America is a funny thing
When the solutions are there, and nothing happens.

Journal April 5th (Funding Poem)- Fazal Mogaddedi

On the brink of graduation
excited to start my life with a good education
i have 2 classes left to complete my degree
but because of budget cuts, summer sessions is where i'll be.
The heads of the university are living care free
while the students are struggling to complete their degrees!

Journal Entry on Funding - Palm Trees

Here's my lil poem on my school. I always like to say that there is no final draft with poetry. But here is what I have so far for this assignment. Its about how my school struggled with funding but masked these problems by putting on image that we were an amazing new school.


My school is a billboard without content
Flashing laptop guarantees
Collaboration unheard of
College style classrooms teaching me how to move about the rest
As if competition didn’t already fuck up our society

And hey! We got palm trees
Palm trees planted into our “new innovative school”
Portraying a learning paradise
Trying to catch the sunrays of our community
With their smooth green leaves reaching for a hopeful sky

But palm trees, shit
They are fuckin expensive
As we plant and plant images of richness
We forget that money needs to go to more important things
We rip out the roots of our schooling
Leaving it without the critical groundwork to sustain itself
We cramp classrooms
Making students hustle for help
And we slash all forms of creativity
Of an outlet
Saying art classes and sports are not valuable

But hey! We still got palm trees, right?
Coconut pleasures so sexy
But a reality untouched by many
Achievement gap growing as fast as my parents’ hustle for money
Teachers laid off as much as my brother drops out
Laptops stolen by young teens believing that
this is the American Dream

but hey, we still got palm trees…
we got no problems..
we got palm trees

Journal 13 | Funding, Control, & Reform | Wendy Wu

I sit here,

crowded classroom,

as if

the walls

close in on me,

absorbing each breath that I take,

leaving me empty,

empty of knowledge.

Books,

cry in the corner,

untouched,

pages dangling from the edge,

damaged from

colliding with walls,

rather than

soaking

children with knowledge.

Desks,

scream of pain,

left a

welcoming, warehouse home

of appreciation

for a

mad scientist experiment,

to be scraped,

scarred with the

sharpness of knives.

I sit here,

in this crowded classroom,

with a thirst for knowledge,

but this thirst

is not quenched,

I ask for

new

books

desks

an education

so

please

abolish proposition 13.

Journal 13 - Angela

From the issues brought up in the readings draw a comic (with at least 5
slides) or write a poem (on the class's blog) that addresses a problem you
could relate to your educational experience caused by lack of funding and
offer a solution (you can use one from the readings or be creative).

"Freedom Writers", a film based on a true story from an LA classroom
Best summarizes, for me, the impact of funding on educational experience
Before her, the students used old books: marked up, decrepit, low quality, second-rate
Exactly what the school administration had seen in those students: unworthy
Her attempts at change were hindered by a lack of funds
Driven by the apathy at the top
Her passion drove her to take on side jobs to fund new books, enhancement trips to museums, et cetera
Showing exactly what funding, with the correct intents and usage, could achieve

***** I apologize for my sub-par and somewhat corny poetry, everyone!

Solution: From what I understand, the current money in education is given to high-performing schools in a "race to the top". However, I believe a clause is needed in this policy that provides underserved schools with the resources necessary to pursue goals for their students that may help them improve school performance as a whole.

Funding, Control, and Reform Journal... Edith C

F airness is necessary for equality

U nequal quality of education

N o soccer team

D rop out rates were high

I n one school year had 5 Spanish teachers

N o prom for my sister

G angs were uncontrollable

Solution: fair funding, funding based on need rather than have a revenue cap, eliminate proposition 13

Disability Snowball Activity (Continued)

When I first came to the United States I was treated differently because of my limited ability to speak English. I felt I had become a differently abled person.

Once in the summer after 9th grade, I had to retake Geometry. During the semester I had gotten a D so I was determined to earn an A this time around. I got perfect scores and felt privileged to have had the teacher separate me from the students who were unable to pass the exams.

A friend of mine was told he could not play basketball b/c he was missing an arm.

I was always seen at being "bad" at math by my family and teachers. I'm not bad at it, it just takes me longer to understand it. I'm actually good at it. I could have been better at it if I had been given the chance.

This semester, there is a guy that lives in my building who has autism. This is the first time I saw the effects of it as I watch him struggle with homework and social skills. I don't know how I feel about this.

At my elementary school, special ed students were separated from the rest of the students. They had different recess times and classes in a separate building disconnected from the main building. It was the lack of interaction and integration that influenced the misinformation towards students with disabilities. I am sorry for believing in the false stereotypes and misinformation and mistreatment they have experienced.

I feel very privileged. I was able to learn in class and never had to worry about if I could see the board, hear the teacher, read an article, or participate with other students. The system worked for me and benefited me.

Put on a low track because my teacher thought I had ADHD. I got tested and wasn't... She was just boring.

There were quite a few "disabled" students at my middle schools. My peers always give these students a hard time. I felt the same. But when I read about students with disabilities later on in my life, I learned that these "disabled" students were actually quite abled! I stand corrected.

In high school I was assigned to regular classes. During my freshman year, my teacher and I noticed that I progressed and learned the material much faster than the rest of the kids. My teacher decided that I should be placed in honors classes since I wasn't being challenged at all in these regular classes. They feared that these students in these regular classes would slow me down and I should therefore be separated.

It angers me that BART elevators are constantly broken and no one takes the time or priority to fix them. It reinforces the lack of awareness in society about this issue.

When I was a kid I made fun of those people who were acting weird and compared them with disabled people. And I shouldn't have done that and feel sorry for it.

My friend got into an accident before the semester started. She was on a wheel chair. She wasn't able to attend classes some days due to pain or doctor's appointments. Instructor failed her due to attendance. No compromise or sympathy, even on a matter she had no control of.