After seeing how hard some students students are trying to get into one of the hardest public universities in California, UC Berkeley. As of 2016 UC Berkeley is is the seventh toughest school to get into, which includes some private universities on the list and is ranked 37th in the nation. They have an acceptance rate of about 18 percent. That alone should say that it is really tough and academically demanding. How ever I feel like some of the students from the documentary we are watching in class might not actually want to attend UC Berkeley. I think this because some of the parents might not have gotten the education they feel they deserved, they are pressuring their daughters/sons. This doesn't really make much sense to me because at the beginning of the film, the narrator said that the parents knew little to nothing about the universities that their son or daughter applied to. This means that they don't know what it takes to get into college. Since their children are leaning along with them, they could be getting treated unfairly, especially since most of the students in this film are less fortunate. Being less fortunate already made their chances of getting into a University very difficult.
A way to make the process of being admitted more fair, is by giving every high school the amount of money needed to make their students successful. Today when two students are being compared to see who would be a better nominee to get into their university and if they have the exact same stats and everything else. When this does happen, the admission office look at a number that represents the high school of which they attended. This number is what makes one school better than the other. The higher the number, the harder the school that the student comes from. And if the government was able to give an equal amount of money, it would put all of the schools at an even playing field. The rest of the money would come from donations. The wealthy people would probably want to keep all of the money to themselves so that they can remain at their current social stature, and the less wealthy people would donate all they could, knowing that their student will get the best education they possibly can.
Great article, the funny thing to me is although it is a detailed application, their is so much that doesn't go on an application. We all have more to say but can't because we can only show our grades and a few essays.
ReplyDeleteAs I am reading your post and many others, it seems to me that the American education system as a whole needs some major reforms in order to create a program that provides an equal opportunity for all to succeed. I found this article called "Is School Funding Fair?: A National Report Card." Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.schoolfundingfairness.org/National_Report_Card.pdf. It is a quite lengthy presentation, so I did not read the entire thing, but it provides some very viable evidence to back up both your points and the ones I am about to make. You say that we need equal funding for all high schools across the nation, and this article agrees with you. It also says that poverty is common in our school system because of decentralization between high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. In other words, schools need to work together in order to create successful individuals. The article goes on to say that the way schools are structure today only cater to the common student. That's just it though. Education can't be reduced to a "common student." Every student comes from a different background and that needs to be reflected in their educational process. This also goes for school districts and is the reason that some students don't get the same opportunities. The funding is equal, but equal means just what the most well off schools need. This leaves underprivileged schools underfunded and struggling to provide the kind of school experience needed to produce success. What I'm trying to say is the American education system has a long way to go. They have focused their needs in the wrong ways and need to wake up and see where they've gone wrong in the past. The American education system needs more internal and external cooperation while creating a more individualized education that can help each and every student succeed.
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