[Sugar_N_Spice]

1. Name at least 3 problems of education.
a.) Teachers, esp. the really good ones, are Under-Valued. They do not get enough recognition or pay, which results in less and less people wanting to become teachers. People don't realize how much teachers really do (even myself, who is not a teacher, therefore cannot completely comprehend). Teachers don't just show kids how to conjugate verbs or how to some the derivative of an equation--they are leaving impressions on children (be it positive or negative) that the kids will remember for the rest of their lives...

b.) Unfair/ Unequal Resources. Having attended schools both in the inner city, and outside the "ghetto", I have seen both sides of the tracks. It's not fair that the high school I graduated from had only 3 AP classes at the time (and none of them were science). It was very hard for me to transition from High School to a Prestigious, Predominantly White University (and I wouldn't have been able to do it w/out the help I received). I had to work twice (sometimes three-times) as hard as other people who came from schools with more AP Classes, better qualified teachers, books for every student, smaller classes, labs with equipment that wasn't outdated, classes w/ computers, etc.

c.) Lack of parental involvement. If all the parents got together and mobilized (instead of merely complaining), so MUCH could be accomplished. We are the ones that vote these people into office, therefore, we are the ones that hold them accountable for doing or not doing their jobs. First, off, kids would do better academically in school, instead of acting up in school (I know my Mom made sure I had my homework done, even helped me with it, and if i were to act up in class--believe I would be punished later). Children, for the most part, are a reflection of their upbringing. Secondly, if most of the parents attempted to keep track of the ongoings of the schools (does my child have to share a book in class, does his/her classes have computers, is her teacher actually teaching, etc.), then the schools would be on their P's & Q's.

2. For each problem that you identified, please name a possible solution.
a.) Teachers should be paid WAAAAAAY more and should receive more accolades (awards and benefits) than they do. More incentives should be provided so that people will be motivated to want to teach.

b.)Not just more money being put in the schools, but better management of the money. We (parents and voters in general), need to elect officials that make education one of their top priorities.

c.) This is a tough one, b/c you can't make parents do anything they don't want to do. But if the schools and government officials gave the parents more incentives to become involved in the education of their students, such as being paid for hours of work missed to attend parent-teacher conferences, then more (but probably not all) parents would be involved. Social Workers should be making sure that things are going okay for the students at home also, b/c as someone else stated earlier, your home life does affect how well you do in school. This means that the teachers will need to be educated on how to notice certain "warning signs" in children (w/out jumping to conlusions).

3. Is education fair to all of its students?
No, Of course it's not. Nothing in life is fair to everyone (not even the IRS).

4. Is education color blind? Should it be? How?
Education is not color-blind, nor should it be. Life is not color-blind, so why should education be? Everyone' culture should be accepted and celebrated, rather than diminished. Students should be able to learn about their own culture in school too, not just someone else's. The K-12 system should have more programs that recognize the achievements of minorities--not just during Black History month, b/c every month is White History month. Students need to see positive images of themselves year-round.This is also why I believe colleges should have a diversity requirement (it will make you appreciate other cultures).

5. Are you in favor of public single race schools with same race teachers? Why or why not? Advantages? Disadvantages?
No, b/c as I stated earlier, life is not color-blind. In the real-world, you are forced to interact with people of various races and cultures, esp. living in America. Students need to get used to interacting with people that are different from them and accepting and appreciating those differences. But I do believe there should be more qualified teachers and administrators that represent various races, esp. the ones that are most prevalent in certain areas.

6. Are you in favor of public single gender schools being taught by that respective gender? Why or why not? What are the advantages? Disadvantages?
No, for the same reasons stated above (even more so here).

7. For at risk students or students who are disadvantaged in terms of class and inferior school settings, what should be done to help these students?
While I whole-heartedly agree with what REIKI stated in response to this question, we do have to try to help the students who are still in the system while attempting to revamp the system. Some possible solutions are: Tutoring programs in the high schools; teachers being more available to help the students when they need it; more mentors to serve as positive examples for students, more parental involvement; and also making the students aware thatthere are ways to supplement the education they are getting now (such as taking classes that are not available at their high schools at community colleges), w/ the help of the schools (providing transportation for these students).

8. As members or prospective members of BGLOs, our focus is service. How can we help our own more PROACTIVELY? What are you doing right now or have done in the past?
Members of BGLO's can help by creating more programs that focus on helping these students. BGLO's have pull that sometimes other orgs on campus don't. BGLO's can pull in people to volunteer and aid in their efforts. Volunteering not only benefits the student, but it benefits you, too, b/c in the bigger picture, these students are "you". I am a mentor and I also volunteer as a tutor once a week (minus weeks that I have midterms) at a high school. But we have to remember that we can't help anyone else unless we help ourselves first, which means we need to make sure we have our "stuff" mostly "together" before we can help someone esle. I see my peers too many times try to help others swim and they are themselves drowning.