The only thing that remains constant is change.

These are the test scores for California Standards Test Scores (STARS) for Thurgood Marshall High, my old high school. My heart literally ached after seeing these scores...    California Standards Test Scores - 2009
Total Number Tested in CAPA:   553             ' + '   Percent Tested: (553 / 559)   98.93 %

	Grades
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	EOC
Reported Enrollment								223	186	154
CST English-Language Arts
Students Tested								216	183	153
%  of Enrollment								96.9 %	98.4 %	99.4 %
Students with Scores								215	183	153
Mean Scale Score								308.1	300.9	309.8
%  Advanced								5 %	4 %	5 %
%  Proficient								22 %	19 %	22 %
%  Basic								21 %	23 %	28 %
%  Below Basic								29 %	23 %	24 %
%  Far Below Basic								22 %	30 %	22 %
CST General Mathematics
Students Tested								20			20
%  of Enrollment								9.0 %
Students with Scores								20			20
Mean Scale Score								239.4			239.4
%  Advanced								0 %			0 %
%  Proficient								0 %			0 %
%  Basic								0 %			0 %
%  Below Basic								20 %			20 %
%  Far Below Basic								80 %			80 %
CST Algebra I
Students Tested								125	21	4	150
%  of Enrollment								56.1 %	11.3 %	2.6 %
Students with Scores								125	21	4	150
Mean Scale Score								265.1	262.5	*	264.4
%  Advanced								1 %	0 %	*	1 %
%  Proficient								4 %	0 %	*	3 %
%  Basic								10 %	10 %	*	9 %
%  Below Basic								40 %	57 %	*	43 %
%  Far Below Basic								46 %	33 %	*	44 %
CST Geometry
Students Tested								70	121	21	212
%  of Enrollment								31.4 %	65.1 %	13.6 %
Students with Scores								70	121	21	212
Mean Scale Score								296.6	266.7	251.5	275.1
%  Advanced								4 %	1 %	0 %	2 %
%  Proficient								11 %	5 %	5 %	7 %
%  Basic								26 %	11 %	10 %	16 %
%  Below Basic								39 %	50 %	29 %	44 %
%  Far Below Basic								20 %	34 %	57 %	32 %
CST Algebra II
Students Tested								1	39	60	100
%  of Enrollment								0.4 %	21.0 %	39.0 %
Students with Scores								1	39	60	100
Mean Scale Score								*	299.2	280.9	287.6
%  Advanced								*	3 %	2 %	2 %
%  Proficient								*	26 %	13 %	18 %
%  Basic								*	15 %	20 %	18 %
%  Below Basic								*	28 %	23 %	25 %
%  Far Below Basic								*	28 %	42 %	37 %
CST Summative High School Mathematics
Students Tested									1	66	67
%  of Enrollment									0.5 %	42.9 %
Students with Scores									1	66	67
Mean Scale Score									*	323.2	322.8
%  Advanced									*	5 %	4 %
%  Proficient									*	32 %	31 %
%  Basic									*	27 %	27 %
%  Below Basic									*	30 %	31 %
%  Far Below Basic									*	6 %	6 %
CST World History
Students Tested								16	170	3	189
%  of Enrollment								7.2 %	91.4 %	1.9 %
Students with Scores								12	169	2	183
Mean Scale Score								227.6	285.8	*	281.0
%  Advanced								0 %	4 %	*	3 %
%  Proficient								0 %	9 %	*	8 %
%  Basic								8 %	25 %	*	24 %
%  Below Basic								0 %	13 %	*	12 %
%  Far Below Basic								92 %	49 %	*	52 %
CST U.S. History
Students Tested										153
%  of Enrollment										99.4 %
Students with Scores										153
Mean Scale Score										302.7
%  Advanced										7 %
%  Proficient										16 %
%  Basic										31 %
%  Below Basic										11 %
%  Far Below Basic										35 %
CST Science - Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 10 Life Science
Students Tested									184
%  of Enrollment									98.9 %
Students with Scores									184
Mean Scale Score									295.3
%  Advanced									3 %
%  Proficient									17 %
%  Basic									21 %
%  Below Basic									21 %
%  Far Below Basic									38 %
CST Biology
Students Tested								187	62	17	266
%  of Enrollment								83.9 %	33.3 %	11.0 %
Students with Scores								187	62	17	266
Mean Scale Score								300.0	285.2	288.6	295.9
%  Advanced								3 %	2 %	0 %	3 %
%  Proficient								12 %	5 %	12 %	10 %
%  Basic								33 %	16 %	18 %	28 %
%  Below Basic								14 %	29 %	35 %	19 %
%  Far Below Basic								38 %	48 %	35 %	40 %
CST Chemistry
Students Tested								4	99	66	169
%  of Enrollment								1.8 %	53.2 %	42.9 %
Students with Scores								4	99	66	169
Mean Scale Score								*	285.0	287.2	285.2
%  Advanced								*	0 %	0 %	0 %
%  Proficient								*	2 %	11 %	5 %
%  Basic								*	30 %	23 %	27 %
%  Below Basic								*	27 %	24 %	25 %
%  Far Below Basic								*	40 %	42 %	43 %
CST Earth Science
Students Tested								22			22
%  of Enrollment								9.9 %
Students with Scores								22			22
Mean Scale Score								264.0			264.0
%  Advanced								0 %			0 %
%  Proficient								0 %			0 %
%  Basic								0 %			0 %
%  Below Basic								18 %			18 %
%  Far Below Basic								82 %			82 %
CST Physics
Students Tested								1	22	70	93
%  of Enrollment								0.4 %	11.8 %	45.5 %
Students with Scores								1	22	70	93
Mean Scale Score								*	291.1	325.5	316.8
%  Advanced								*	5 %	6 %	5 %
%  Proficient								*	5 %	21 %	17 %
%  Basic								*	18 %	50 %	42 %
%  Below Basic								*	27 %	11 %	15 %
%  Far Below Basic								*	45 %	11 %	20 %

i <3 sinfest

Long random rant, be warned.

It saddens me to hear what has become of California. 

From an article on Time.com,

"Democrats were able to block Schwarzenegger from using the budget crisis to eliminate California's safety net for its poorest and most vulnerable citizens. The governor had originally proposed eliminating the state's welfare-to-work program, the CalGrant program that helps thousands of low-income students attend college and a health-insurance program covering poor children."

 

I am a product of the CalGrant and low-income health insurance programs myself but I can argue the case both ways. 

I could go and speculate that had I not received the Cal Grants, I may not have attended college but that would be completely false.  There are many scholarships out there that anyone could apply to. 

It would just require more work on the student's side of the ball game.  One can argue that it will force the students to become mroe diligent and weed the less motivated ones. 

But at the same time, I can also argue that, many times, the scholarships may not cover the cost of attending colleges.  That will end up requiring more students and families to pay out of their own pockets which will then end up causing the poorer families to end up suffering the most. 

Cal Grants give students chances to rise out of poorer situations.  And those chances could make or a break a person's life. 

Using my own experience as an example:

Assuming I received the same amount of scholarships but did not receive any Cal Grants, I may have to pay out of pocket maybe 8,000$/year.  I probably still would have gone to Berkeley but that would put me 32,000$ in debt.  What would make a huge difference is that if I am already 32,000$ in debt, there would be no way in hell I would ever have chosen to go to CMU which, in my honest opinion, made a HUUUGE difference in my life. 

I would have had a much lower starting salary and my job prospects would have been much less.  I would pay less taxes to the state of CA because of my lower wages and CA. 

CA was basically investing in me when they offered me that Cal Grant. Was that 32,000$ worth it for CA?  Hell yes.  I am probably going end up paying an additional 5,000$/year in taxes for CA. 5,000$/year * 40years = 200,000$ gain for a 32,000$ investment. 

Yes my numbers are a bit rough and I am holding the assumptions that I wouldn't apply to other scholarships that could cover the rest of that 8,000$ cost or that not all individuals receiving those grants stay in CA (however, many do) BUT this is just to give a general idea of a possible scenario.   

Suffice to say, I was quite happy to hear that they are keeping the Cal Grant and low-income health insurance in place. 

Getting rid of it not only eliminates a good investment for CA but on the moral issue of things, it will definitely widen the gap between the rich and the poor.  The rich will still have saved enough money to send their children to school but the poorer families will have to suffer and their children will have to suffer.  We may never know greatness from those potentially talented children if they do not have the opportunity to flourish in the University environment and really discover their talents. 

 

To be fair to the replublicans, I don't totally disagree with items that they propose (from the same article):

"Schwarzenegger and his Republican allies successfully resisted calls from Democrats to raise taxes by saying they had agreed to a $12 billion tax increase in February as part of the state's first budget crisis of 2009, and that in a severe economic downturn, businesses and individuals could not afford any more taxes."

Raises taxes will probably hurt the lower income bracket the most and I agree, small business will suffer.

What I think really needs to happen is more efficient ways of managing all these systems and processes.  There are many loopholes in the welfare program that people find and take advantage of.  The overall health system is inefficient in managing the costs and care of their patients.

We shouldn't get rid of those benefits but they need to be improved.  Unfortunately in order to make improvements, we will need to spend the money which as we all know, will probably never happen.  So that leaves us back to square one where it will just continue to be a bicker fest in the golden state.

Fun stuff.

 

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1911862,00.html

"    There is nothing that could have prepared me for this place.  Before coming here I thought I knew all the dangers and hardships I would face, after all that is what I had been trained for.  Looking back now, I didn't know shit.  When I joined the Army, I was a young, arrogant 19 year old kid who thought he knew everything and could take on anything.  Now I am an aged, exausted 20 year old who just wants to go home to tell his family he love them and he wishes he could have been better growing up.  I should have listened to my parents advice about staying in school, going to college, working now and playing later, but I didn't.  I had to do it my way, just like every rebellious teen, and now I am here, at war in Iraq, watching people I know and love like family being zipped up inside body bags.
    There are things a man never forgets in his life.  His first love, His first car, And the first time has has to lay one of his friends to rest.  And the second.  And the third. I will never forget the day two of my men died when their vehicle was hit by an IED. I remember trying to pull one of their bodies out and his ribs crackled and crunched.  And I will NEVER forget the smell.  I will never forget the looks on the other soldiers faces, which probably closely resembled the look on my face.  Blank.  Afraid.  Angry. Sad.  AS if they were the ones who had died.  But we keep going, we drive on because that is our job.  Its our job to fight for a people who could give a shit about the cause WE are fighting for.  For their freedom.  Fighting for the same people who turn around and plant more IED's, which will kill more soldiers.  Which will in turn end up being me, putting more of my friends inside body bags, then to top it all off all we hear is how America is against this war.  How Michael Moore's Farenheight 911 is the best movie ever.  How he is a patriot for saying all those things, and it breaks our hearts.  To be honest it feels like the whole damn world is against us.  But we have each other.  A family that is closer than family. A bond that will never be broken.  So we drive on.
    I have seen REAL heroes.  18,19,20 year old kids who put all fear and danger behind them because one of their own is in trouble.  Men who would rather take a bullet than see man next to them go down.  Men who wake up every day and put their life on the line because it is the right thing to do.  The right thing for their country.  The right thing for themselves.  But most importantly because its the right thing to do for the man standing next tot hem. 
    I love all of these men with all my heart.  As if they were my own flesh and blood.  So America, now I ask you, please, show these men love too.  If you see a soldier walking through the airport or in your town just say "thank you for the job you do, I appreciate it".  Or shake their hand.  Please, make them feel like they have a home to come back to.
    In closing, I want to share with you something I read that made me sit back a think and for a moment, everything seemed to stop:
    I want you to close your eyes and picture in your mind a soldier at Valley Forge as he holds his musket in his bloody hands.  He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family surrounded by nothing but death and the carnage of war.  He stands though, with fire in his eyes and victory on his breath.  He looks at us now in anger and disgust and tells us this...
    I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now you children graduate too illiterate to read it.
    I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay home because it rains.
    I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech and you remain silent on critical issues because it might be bad for business.
    I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve and it has stolen democracy from the people. 
    It is the soldier, not the report who gives you freedom of press.
    It is the soldier, not the poet who gives you freedom of speech.
    It is the soldier, not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate.
    It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag!!!

                                                                                              -Anonamous Soldier in Iraq "



Do I support the war? No.  But do I want our soldiers, our people to die and suffer in combat? Definitely no.  The war in Iraq should not have happen.  But it is happening.  And sometimes, we spend all the time fighting and protesting against the war in Iraq in the government but we forget that the soldiers who are physically there now needs our support as well.  Support our troops.  Know the pain that goes on in those battle fields.

Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves of what is going on out there and bring ourselves off our high chairs...

This letter left me speechless and guilty.  Guilty for the truth stated in those last phrases.  Guilty for seeing soldiers in the Pittsburgh Airport and not saying "Thank you" to them.  They deserve much more than such a simple gesture from us but yet I, and many others, still fail them in that way. 

I feel ashamed because I am sitting here comfortably in my school studying and bitching about how tough school life is when there those soldiers are, fighting for their lives, fighting for America, watching their friends die and like the writer said, being HEROES. 

Soldiers everywhere, I am sorry and I salute you.







Note:
The letter above is from website called: http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/.  This website lets anyone "adopt a solider" by writing to them, sending them care packages and letting those soldiers know that people care.  On their front page, they posted an amazing letter written by one soldier.  They scanned the letter and encrypted the code so there is no way for me to embed the image here.  But I have typed the letter and posted it up because I think it deserves more reading.

You can read the written letter on:
http://resellyourweb.com/adopt/letter2.html
http://resellyourweb.com/adopt/letter3.html
http://resellyourweb.com/adopt/letter4.html