Formal Paper #2 (Final Polish)

Lukas Miller

Instructor Knapp

English 1A

Dear Parents,

            In today’s society, there are certain patterns of behavior that young children and even adults tend to follow throughout their lifetime, such as wanting to learn how to walk as a toddler, or even learning how to speak, or just simply try to accomplish something. Traits such as these are in the mind of every child when they are born. But as society knows, there is an undisputed difference between the two genders. As a child, a boy is usually accustomed to playing with G.I. Joes and action figures while we see little girls playing with Barbie dolls and ponies. It is in our human nature to deviate from the opposite sex and has been there ever since the beginning of time. It is so apparent in society that even children can see it and follow the pathway history has led us down to.

To support these differences in gender roles, the children witness them every day of their lives. Because traditionally, we see our dad working on the car or outside fixing things that are broken, and we see our mom in the kitchen preparing food or doing laundry and that changes the image of different gender roles in a child’s mind drastically. But According to Purdue University’s Tips for Healthy Gender Development: “Giving boys and girls the chance to watch women and men do different jobs will help promote healthy gender role development.” And for a kid that gets to see both genders do everything together like the father helping your mother in the kitchen or vice-versa in the garage working on the car. I think seeing both parents working together can help a child develop a view of equality between genders. This also shows them that both males and females are capable of doing any job. Growing up knowing that you can succeed in whatever you want to does not only bring a feeling of self-accomplishment but also a sense of happiness knowing that it’s not wrong to do what your heart desires.

            When identifying gender for a child we think of colors like blue or pink. Blue, obviously for boys, and pink for girls. Right from the get-go the child is placed into a realm of what their gender identity is and parents treat them accordingly, especially with their appearances. To adults, gender between boys and girls as children is usually identified from whether they have long hair or short hair, if the wear dresses and skirts or if they wear blue jeans and t-shirts, if they play with dolls in the house or play with action figures and Tonka trucks in the mud. Because of these stereotypical behaviors, children follow those roles even when they get older. Kids follow the example that their parents present them and put that into fruition without even thinking about it.

            For men in a traditional society are given a set of roles to follow, usually consisting of working to provide for your family, protecting your family, working around the house, fixing anything that is broken, to play sports, be aggressive, don’t show weakness and lastly, be a man. Now if you do not perform some of those tasks you will be in question if you’re a real man or not and to be considered awkward and or homosexual. But for women, they have a similar set of roles; just the exact opposite of a man’s set of roles. A woman’s roles consist of: cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, doing laundry, to make sure the husband is happy, do not sleep around, show emotion, and simply be a good wife. And if a woman does not follow the traditional roles of being a woman, they are considered to be uptight, a lesbian, or for lack of a better term, a “bitch.” But in today’s society, these specific gender roles are changing and people are diverging from them more so now than they did back in the traditional times. But these roles are still imprinted in to all people’s minds, still wanting to prove that they are manly or a woman, people still try to achieve each other’s approval.

            To a young boy, their minds are shaped and pounded vigorously by all the men around him, whether being his dad, coaches, teachers, friends, brothers, priests, or just guys along the street. A guy is always heeding their words of the generalization of masculinity and trying to get their approval. According to Michael Kimmel from his story “Bros before Hos: The Guy Code” he states that, “Men subscribe to these ideals not because they want to impress woman, let alone any inner drive or desire to test themselves against some abstract standards. They do it because they want to be positively evaluated by other men” (Kimmel 611). This statement that Kimmel wrote means that men do every masculine thing they can think of not to show women he is a man, but to get approval by other men to show that he is not a wuss, or to think he is gay. Because in a guy’s mind, the approval of others is everything to him.

            To the unseen eye, there are very many consequences with the traditional gender roles and how men and women are “supposed” to act. For men, they usually suffer from self-esteem issues, no social interaction, disassociation of emotion, and depression. And because of these destructive behaviors Kimmel states that "Boys are more prone to depression, suicidal behavior, and various forms of out-of-control or out-of-touch behaviors than girls are” (616). It’s believed that boys suffer more from the traditional rules of the Guy Code because the code leaves boys disconnected from emotions and prohibits them from sharing any form of feelings they have with others. And to add onto the pile, it can also lead to relationship issues because boys do not know how or want to express themselves how they truly feel and just express emotion.

A study that Kimmel does for his story “Bros before Hos,” where he goes around the country asking men from different colleges asking them one question, “what sorts of phrases and words come to mind when they hear someone say, ‘Be a man!” (608) the responses he got from most guys were, “Don’t cry… never show your feelings, never ask for directions, never give up, never give in, be strong, be aggressive, show no fear, show no mercy, get rich, get even, get laid, win” (609). These statements show that this is not a healthy society, because this shows that there is no room for error. When young boys are growing up, they are pressured with all these tasks and roles, they simply cannot be the person they truly want to be because they have to mask all emotions and pretend to be someone they are not. And when a boy cannot live up to the expectations that are weighing down on his shoulders, he becomes an outcast and ridiculed for not “being a man.”

         

   In my early childhood my father was in a terrible accident and was forced to be a stay at home dad while my mom was out all day working. So when I was growing up from age 5-8 I got to witness the exchanging of gender roles because my dad would do everything around the house, pick me and my brothers up from school and help my mom cook dinner when she got home from a long day at work. But on the weekends both my parents would be change roles again; my dad would be fixing things around the house, building fences or constructing a garage while my mom cleaned the house and cooked food. So on the weekends was when my brothers and I got to be men with my dad because we were always building something. One instance when us boys were all building a carport in our backyard, my father lost his balance near the edge and fell off the roof about 15 feet and landed back down onto our lawnmower. My brothers and I couldn’t do anything but watch him fall which we thought to his death, but somehow he managed to survive without a broken bone or even a scratch. My father just got up and walked it off like nothing happened and went back to work not 5 minutes later. I didn’t know this then, but this was subtly seared into my brain on how men should act and react in situations of that aptitude, so now whenever I get hurt I don’t show pain, or emotion, I always try to act like nothing happened and move on.

           The Traditional roles of both men and women do not fit into today’s society; times have changed and people think differently today and need reinforcement rather than discouragement. And to go against that traditional ways, we need parents to show that both male and females are equal, to help kids know that there is no pressure in growing up to what you want to be or being under constant supervision to make sure you are “normal.”

Sincerely,

Luke Miller

Annotated Bibliography

-Durso, Barb. "Gender Identity." Your Child's Development. N.p., 24 Sept. 2000. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.

Barb Durso is a board certified Pediatrician in private practice in Dallas, Texas. In her article she discusses child development and the stages a child goes through as he or she discovers whether they are male or female. Durso provides information on how a child develops the clear cut idealology of gender identity and gender stability. Both gender identity and stability are two stages that a child goes through where children develop stereotypic behaviors appropriate to their gender identity.

-Kimmel, Michael. "Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code." Rereading America. Eighth ed. New York:

                Bedford/St.Martin's, 2010. 608-17. Print.

In this article, “The Guy Code,” Michael Kimmel discusses the set of rules that men have to follow while growing up in order to seem worthy to be called a man, and not be looked down upon as being gay. The guidelines that men have to follow include: not being a wuss, maintain wealth, provide for your family, and never show emotion. These guidelines are most commonly taught to children while they are growing up, and sometimes have major consequences, from being unsocial, to even death.

-Putnam, Judi. Judith Myers-Walls. Dee Love. Tips to Encourage Healthy Gender Development of Boys and Girls. Purdue U. web. 2010

                In this article, the authors give parents tips on how to help raise your child and help parents identify good behaviors that their child should have. And also tell parents how to act around their children so they can identify good attitude and how to look upon gender roles in society.

Final Draft #2

Lukas Miller

Instructor Knapp

English 1A

Dear Parents,

            In today’s society, there are certain patterns of behavior that young children and even adults tend to follow throughout their lifetime, such as wanting to learn how to walk as a toddler, or even learning how to speak, or just simply try to accomplish something. Traits such as these are in the mind of every child when they are born. But as society knows, there is an undisputed difference between the two genders. As a child, a boy is usually accustomed to playing with G.I. Joes and action figures while we see little girls playing with Barbie dolls and ponies. It is in our human nature to deviate from the opposite sex and has been there ever since the beginning of time. It is so apparent in society that even children can see it and follow the pathway history has led us down to.

To support these differences in gender roles, the children witness them every day of their lives. Because traditionally, we see our dad working on the car or outside fixing things that are broken, and we see our mom in the kitchen preparing food or doing laundry and that changes the image of different gender roles in a child’s mind drastically. But According to Purdue University’s Tips for Healthy Gender Development: “Giving boys and girls the chance to watch women and men do different jobs will help promote healthy gender role development.” And for a kid that gets to see both genders do everything together like the father helping your mother in the kitchen or vice-versa in the garage working on the car. I think seeing both parents working together can help a child develop a view of equality between genders. This also shows them that both males and females are capable of doing any job. Growing up knowing that you can succeed in whatever you want to does not only bring a feeling of self-accomplishment but also a sense of happiness knowing that it’s not wrong to do what your heart desires.

            When identifying gender for a child we think of colors like blue or pink. Blue, obviously for boys, and pink for girls. Right from the get-go the child is placed into a realm of what their gender identity is and parents treat them accordingly, especially with their appearances. To adults, gender between boys and girls as children is usually identified from whether they have long hair or short hair, if the wear dresses and skirts or if they wear blue jeans and t-shirts, if they play with dolls in the house or play with action figures and Tonka trucks in the mud. Because of these stereotypical behaviors, children follow those roles even when they get older. Kids follow the example that their parents present them and put that into fruition without even thinking about it.

            For men in a traditional society are given a set of roles to follow, usually consisting of working to provide for your family, protecting your family, working around the house, fixing anything that is broken, to play sports, be aggressive, don’t show weakness and lastly, be a man. Now if you do not perform some of those tasks you will be in question if you’re a real man or not and to be considered awkward and or homosexual. But for women, they have a similar set of roles; just the exact opposite of a man’s set of roles. A woman’s roles consist of: cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, doing laundry, to make sure the husband is happy, do not sleep around, show emotion, and simply be a good wife. And if a woman does not follow the traditional roles of being a woman, they are considered to be uptight, a lesbian, or for lack of a better term, a “bitch.” But in today’s society, these specific gender roles are changing and people are diverging from them more so now than they did back in the traditional times. But these roles are still imprinted in to all people’s minds, still wanting to prove that they are manly or a woman, people still try to achieve each other’s approval.

            To a young boy, their minds are shaped and pounded vigorously by all the men around him, whether being his dad, coaches, teachers, friends, brothers, priests, or just guys along the street. A guy is always heeding their words of the generalization of masculinity and trying to get their approval. According to Michael Kimmel from his story “Bros before Hos: The Guy Code” he states that, “Men subscribe to these ideals not because they want to impress woman, let alone any inner drive or desire to test themselves against some abstract standards. They do it because they want to be positively evaluated by other men” (Kimmel 611). This statement that Kimmel wrote means that men do every masculine thing they can think of not to show women he is a man, but to get approval by other men to show that he is not a wuss, or to think he is gay. Because in a guy’s mind, the approval of others is everything to him.

            To the unseen eye, there are very many consequences with the traditional gender roles and how men and women are “supposed” to act. For men, they usually suffer from self-esteem issues, no social interaction, disassociation of emotion, and depression. And because of these destructive behaviors Kimmel states that "Boys are more prone to depression, suicidal behavior, and various forms of out-of-control or out-of-touch behaviors than girls are” (616). It’s believed that boys suffer more from the traditional rules of the Guy Code because the code leaves boys disconnected from emotions and prohibits them from sharing any form of feelings they have with others. And to add onto the pile, it can also lead to relationship issues because boys do not know how or want to express themselves how they truly feel and just express emotion.

A study that Kimmel does for his story “Bros before Hos,” where he goes around the country asking men from different colleges asking them one question, “what sorts of phrases and words come to mind when they hear someone say, ‘Be a man!” (608) the responses he got from most guys were, “Don’t cry… never show your feelings, never ask for directions, never give up, never give in, be strong, be aggressive, show no fear, show no mercy, get rich, get even, get laid, win” (609). These statements show that this is not a healthy society, because this shows that there is no room for error. When young boys are growing up, they are pressured with all these tasks and roles, they simply cannot be the person they truly want to be because they have to mask all emotions and pretend to be someone they are not. And when a boy cannot live up to the expectations that are weighing down on his shoulders, he becomes an outcast and ridiculed for not “being a man.”

         

   In my early childhood my father was in a terrible accident and was forced to be a stay at home dad while my mom was out all day working. So when I was growing up from age 5-8 I got to witness the exchanging of gender roles because my dad would do everything around the house, pick me and my brothers up from school and help my mom cook dinner when she got home from a long day at work. But on the weekends both my parents would be change roles again; my dad would be fixing things around the house, building fences or constructing a garage while my mom cleaned the house and cooked food. So on the weekends was when my brothers and I got to be men with my dad because we were always building something. One instance when us boys were all building a carport in our backyard, my father lost his balance near the edge and fell off the roof about 15 feet and landed back down onto our lawnmower. My brothers and I couldn’t do anything but watch him fall which we thought to his death, but somehow he managed to survive without a broken bone or even a scratch. My father just got up and walked it off like nothing happened and went back to work not 5 minutes later. I didn’t know this then, but this was subtly seared into my brain on how men should act and react in situations of that aptitude, so now whenever I get hurt I don’t show pain, or emotion, I always try to act like nothing happened and move on.

           The Traditional roles of both men and women do not fit into today’s society; times have changed and people think differently today and need reinforcement rather than discouragement. And to go against that traditional ways, we need parents to show that both male and females are equal, to help kids know that there is no pressure in growing up to what you want to be or being under constant supervision to make sure you are “normal.”

Proposal #2

Title: Bros before Hos: The Guy Code
Author: Michael Kimmel
Topic: the unspoken code men follow to be a "man" and its affects

Analysis of the Arugument

Intended Audience: The intended audience is to guys growing up in high school/college
Exigence: what the effects would be if  a boy growing up and does not follow the strict guidelines, and what the kind of ridicule this boy would face for not being "manly"
Purpose: to show that the guy code is not always acceptable in today's society
Claim: the guy code oppresses men to conform to what today's society views as what a man should do to look and act manly

Ethos: As a male i can attest that there is a lot of pressure placed on every male in today's society. Growing up i was taught how to be a man from my dad so ever since then i've always been trying to follow the rules and how stressful it is to always be under that pressure.

Pathos: growing up i have endured and witnessed the guy code at work. because i grew playing sports so i was always under pressure to not show pain, exhaustion, or just always be in competition with other players to show that you are better then other guys. there is one instance in elementary school when i was playing tackle football with my friends, me being the strongest it always took a couple people to take me down. one play i was tackled and i ended up breaking my wrist, and because i didnt want anybody to know or make fun of me for crying or whining, so i kept quiet and kept playing in extreme pain. another instance where i witnessed it was at home where my dad was working on building a carport in our backyard. he fell off the roof and landed back first on our lawnmower from 15 feet up. he got right up and walked it off and showed no pain or anything. it made me look up to him and be as tough as him.

Logos: Kimmel uses a lot of research methods in his story, and uses psychological studies done by Robert Brannon who also created simple guidelines what he thought needed to follow to be a man. Kimmel also describes in his work that men are more likely trying to impress other men instead of actually trying to impress women because they want to be manlier. and also there structure where men keep others in check to make sure they never are considered unmanly, or become an outcast in the male society.

RA #2

Title: "From Fly Girl's to Bitches and Ho's

Author: Joan Morgan

Date: 1999

Topic: Sexism in the hip-hop industry

Analysis of Argument

Intended Audience: People who listen to hip-hop/rap and want to understand why women are put down again and again in their songs.

Exigence: To understand why there is sexism in the hip-hop industry.

Purpose: To inform women and all the like about the truth behind sexism in modern day hip-hop/rap music and to help them understand the reasons behind it.

Claim: Morgan claims that Sexism in the Hip-Hop is caused from the roots of oppression upon the African-American Community.

Evidence: "The Leading cause of death of black males from the ages of 15-24 is homicide. the majority of them will die at the hands of other black men." (604)

“We have come to a point in our history, however, when black-on-black love- a love that’s survived slavery, lynching, segregation, poverty, and racism- is in serious danger.”(602) 

Notorious B.I.G.'s album "Ready to Die" concentrates and reflects on his own past life experiences, with runs ins with robbery, jail, murder, drug dealing, money, sex, parties, and sex which seemed to him as an amazing life.

Rhetorical Analysis

Writing strategy #1 Pathos

Writing strategy #2 Description as evidence

Writing strategy #3 Cause and effect

Reader Effect #1 Morgan uses quotes from song lyrics to help readers understand what is really said.

Reader Effect #2 Morgan uses facts and reasoning to help readers understand how much violence is endured in these people's lives 

Reader Effect #3 Morgan uses her own personal experience as a black woman to give a different point of view on how these issues affected her life.

Response:  Although rappers express their lives and thoughts throughout their songs, we will truly never understand what each rapper has endured throughout their life or what they have carry through it, because everyone's experience is different. Many of their views on life, women, belongings are acquired through the hardships they have faced like racism and poverty, and they see it happening throughout their life and feel obligated to do the same against their own people especially towards women, which they look at as sex objects and nothing more than that. But that is how the hip-hop culture has become nowadays and it will always be for an unknown reason.

Final Draft

Lukas Miller

Instructor Knapp

English 1A                                                                                               

October 14, 2012

Proposition 30: A Fight for Education

            During the span over the last several years, California and its people have endured a great recession. We Californians have seen Governor Jerry Brown been forced to make vital and drastic cuts to California’s state budget, from public safety to state jobs and all the way to public transportation. But one department has seen the worst and has been on the chopping block the longest, education. And to make matters worse, Jerry Brown has already signed off $6 Billion worth of trigger cuts to education state-wide from grades k-12 and Community College, which is approximately 3 week’s worth of school if either Proposition 30 or 38 do not pass in the November polls. Jerry Brown’s devised plan of Proposition 30 to help out public education and the public safety departments, if passed, will result in an increase in sales tax of ¼ cent per dollar spent for 4 years, and also an increase in personal income tax to those earning over $250,000 in a fiscal year for 7 years. Although taxing the rich in our state might seem harsh, it is truly the only way to get our state back on track and to help create a better future for our state's youth by giving them a better education.

            Passing Prop 30 will be deeply beneficial to our states already declining education system which has endured bad budget cuts in recent years. If prop 30 does not pass, we will see extreme trigger cuts to the education system. Grades K-12 and community colleges will be losing approximately $5.4 billion annually, and the UC/CSU system will be enduring a loss of its own at approximately $250 million each per year. Except that this is not all that our state will endure; $50 million will be cut from public safety department which includes the police, fire, prison, development, and wildlife departments. With all of these budget cuts in our near future if prop 30 does not pass, this will cause unrest and a decline in our already declining state’s economic system.

            Some arguments against prop 30 are that in recent history politicians have raised taxes so "they can have extra money in their wallets" because we saw no increase in budget to any state department but there was increases in income to politicians. Because that has happened the opposition believes that this measure is all just a scam and education will not be seeing any new money because there is no guarantee that the money will actually go to those departments in dire need. But to accredit Jerry brown and to affirm that this is not true; all revenue prop 30 acquires will be placed into the Education Protection Account, and therefore be dispersed among our state’s schools. Another argument against prop 30 is said that it is unfair to raise taxes to just our states highest earning tax payers because it looks like the government is just picking on them for earning more, but according to Thomas Piketty from an nytimes.com article, he states: “In a way, the United States is becoming like Old Europe, which is very strange in historical perspective,’...‘The United States used to be very egalitarian, not just in spirit but in actuality. Inequality of wealth and income used to be much larger in France. And very high taxes on the very rich — that was invented in the United States[.]” This quote symbolizes the actual inequality of the wealthy people in the US, so higher taxation on the rich will actually show that everybody in this country is equal because everybody deserves the same chance to succeed that a millionaire holds.

            Not only does prop 30 hold control of our states education system's future but it also holds control of our youth, because without a proper education they will not even have a fighting chance to be successful in life. Because in a recent poll done by nytimes.com about what employers, that at least hire 25% of their workforce, look for in somebody that wants to work for them; the employers response was this: “89 percent said they wanted more emphasis on ‘the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,’ 81 percent asked for better ‘critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills’ and 70 percent were looking for ‘the ability to innovate and be creative.” This Quote not only explains what corporate jobs are looking for, but it explains that they need a properly educated person to fill the spot, and without the support of prop 30, properly educated people will be even more scarce because they simply cannot even pay their way through school. So not only is prop 30 essential to our education, it is essential to our economy.

            As a student, a 19 year old, in their 2^nd year of community college, this prop affects me directly because I have to pay for my education. And if prop 30 does not pass that means I have to struggle even more. Because with the trigger cuts to education that means teachers are getting laid off, there is going to be fewer classes to choose from, more students in each class, more students on wait-lists, and also increase in unit cost for each class. I’m already on student aid and because of all the budget cuts Cabrillo will receive that means it will be harder for me to take all the necessary units I need to even qualify for aid. And because of that, the dream that every community college student has of staying 2 years then leaving to a university will be nearly impossible simply because they cannot take all the units they need to graduate and transfer within the 2 years.

            So why would we want it to make it harder for our future generation to succeed? If prop 30 does not pass that means generations of students will not get the proper education that everyone deserves, and therefore will struggle in life because they could not get a great paying job simply because they could not afford college. California’s education system used to be the epitome of all education everywhere in the US and now it is becoming a joke because of budget cuts therefore deteriorating California's once prized possesion, and if prop 30 does not pass then California will face an educational Armageddon. So let’s take a stand and get it back on track. Vote yes on Prop 30. 

Rough Draft

Lukas Miller

Instructor Stacey Knapp

English 1A                                                                                               

October 7, 2012

Proposition 30 Rough Draft

            During the span over the last several years, California and its people have endured a great recession. We Californians have seen Governor Jerry Brown been forced to make vital and drastic cuts to California’s state budget, from public safety to state jobs and all the way to public transportation, but one department has seen the worst and has been on the chopping block the longest, education. And to make matters worse, Jerry Brown has already signed off $6 Billion worth of trigger cuts to education state-wide from grades k-12 and Community College, which is approximately 3 week’s worth of school, if either Proposition 30 or 38 do not pass in the November polls. Jerry Brown’s devised plan of Proposition 30 to help out public education and the public safety departments if passed will result in an increase in sales tax of ¼ cent per dollar spent for 4 years, and also an increase in personal income tax to those earning over $250,000 in a fiscal year for 7 years. Although taxing the rich in our state might seem harsh, it is truly the only way to get our state back on track and to help create a better future for you states youth giving them a better education.

            Passing Prop 30 will be deeply beneficial to our states already declining education system which has endured bad budget cuts in recent years. And if prop 30 does not pass, we will see extreme trigger cuts to the education system. Grades K-12 and also community colleges will be losing approximately $5.4 billion, and also the UC/CSU system will be enduring a loss of its own at approximately $250 million each. Except that is not all that our state will endure, $50 million will be cut from public safety department including police, fire, prison, development, and wildlife departments. With all of these budget cuts in our near future if prop 30 does not pass, this will cause unrest and a decline in our already declining state’s economic system.

            Some arguments against prop 30 are that because in recent history politicians have rasied taxes to they can have extra money in their wallets because we saw no increase in budget to any state department but we saw increases in income. And because that has happened the opposition believes that this measure is all just a scam and education will not be seeing any new money because there is no guarantee that the money will actually go to those departments in dire need. But to accredit Jerry brown and to affirm that this is not true; all revenue that prop 30 acquires will be placed into the Education Protection Account, and therefore be dispersed among our state’s schools. And another argument against prop 30 is said that it is unfair to raise taxes to just our states highest earning tax payers because it looks like the government is just picking on them for earning more but according to Thomas Piketty from an nytimes.com article, he states: “In a way, the United States is becoming like Old Europe, which is very strange in historical perspective,’...‘The United States used to be very egalitarian, not just in spirit but in actuality. Inequality of wealth and income used to be much larger in France. And very high taxes on the very rich — that was invented in the United States[.]” This quote symbolizes the actual inequality of the wealthy people in the US, so higer taxation on the rich will actually show that everybody in this country is equal because everybody deserves the same chance to succeed that a millionaire holds.

            Not only does prop 30 hold control of our states education system but it also holds control of our youth because without a proper education, they will not even have a fighting chance to be successful in life. Because in a recent poll done by nytimes.com about what employers, that at least hire 25% of their workforce, look for in somebody that wants to work for them, the employers response was this: “89 percent said they wanted more emphasis on ‘the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,’ 81 percent asked for better ‘critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills’ and 70 percent were looking for ‘the ability to innovate and be creative.” This Quote not only explains what corporate jobs are looking for it explains that they need a properly educated person to fill the spot, and without the support of prop 30, properly educated people will be even more scarce because they simply cannot even pay their way through school. So not only is prop 30 essential to our education, it is essential to our economy.

            As a student, a 19 year old, in their 2^nd year of community college, this prop affects me directly because I have to pay for my education. And if prop 30 does not pass that means I have to struggle even more. Because with the trigger cuts to education that means teachers are getting laid off, there is going to be fewer classes to choose from, more students in each class, more students on waitlists, and also increase in unit cost for each class. I’m already on student aid, and because of all the budget cuts Cabrillo will receive that means it will be harder for me to take all the necessary units I need to even qualify for aid. And because of that, the dream that every community college student has of staying 2 years then leaving to a university will be nearly impossible simply because they cannot take all the units they need to graduate and transfer within the 2 years.

            So why would we want it to make it harder for our future generation to succeed? If prop 30 does not pass that means generations of students will not get the proper education that everyone deserves, and therefore will struggle in life because they could not get a great paying job simply because they could not afford college. California’s education system used to be the epitome of all Education everywhere in the US and now it is becoming a joke because of budget cuts, and if prop 30 does not pass then California will face an educational Armageddon. So let’s take a stand and get it back on track. Vote yes on Prop 30. 

Proposal

Title: Pros and Cons of Prop 30

Author: I am a 2nd year, 19 year old college student currently attending community college with the support of student aid.

Topic: Proposition 30 is a state tax measure that will increase income taxes to those earning $250,000 or more to raise money for the safety departments and the CA education system, specifically for K-12 and also community colleges.

Exigence: Prop 30 will affect the education system direly if it does not pass, but if it does pass then it will have a much ne eded benefit on schools state-wide.

Intended Audience: It is for anyone that is a voter that cares about our state's education system, either being for it, against it, or uninformed about prop 30.

Claim: Proposition 30, if passed, will be beneficial to the education system as a whole, and make it easier to educate our youth in the future.

Logos: If Prop 30 passes we will see an increase in taxes for people earning over $250,000 in a fiscal year for the next 7 years and also a 1/4 cent increase in sales tax over the next 4 years, helping generate approximately $6.6 billion dollars in revenue that will dispersed to the education system. 89% will go to levels K-12 and the remaining 11% will go to community colleges. Prop 30 also guarantees that funds will be raised for the safety departments out of the remaining budget. But if Prop 30 fails in the polls then consequently approximately $5.3 billion dollars will be cut from the Education system. Also with the Fail of Prop 30 we will see a $250 million dollar budget cut in CSU system that would be effective immediately.

Ethos: I connect to this subject because if Prop 30 passes or fails it affects me personally, and also any other student in the California Education system. With as bad as budget cuts have been in the last few years its getting harder and harder for students to continue their education. Also with the budget cuts community colleges have faced; classes got bigger but the selection has gotten smaller because teachers have been laid off making the coveted two-years then done and off to University nearly impossible simply because community colleges are getting over-crowded.

Pathos: Why would you want to make it harder to be successful in life? if Prop 30 fails, the "American Dream" will become even more of a myth as it is right now. But if it passes then students statewide will have a fighting chance to achieve their dream and live the "American Dream." Prop 30 also induces hope into the future of the education system because with this extra help kids can have a brighter future to look towards to and might have a chance to change the world, But only passing Prop 30 will allow that extra chance.