1) Budget cuts in education affect all parts of education for students. Its effects not only students, it also effects teachers. In a field where about 20% of teachers leave the profession in the first three years, budget cuts mean less incentive for educators to continue teaching. Furthermore, it effects work hours because increased students means longer teaching hours, and obviously the pay would be effected reversely as well.
Benefits is another area where budget cuts have a tremendous effect, teachers who receive good benefits, whether its healthcare or other benefits through their district become an issue. Teachers will no longer have access to top of the line medical plans, or any other perks that they might have received otherwise.
As for the student, cutting educational budget is something stressful. Students already struggle with paying school loans and things are only going to get worst as we cut budgets, for instance interest rate would go up, alongside with higher education cost, including books and other material. That’s why Education Budget Cuts will only harm our society and students, and leave millions of Americans uneducated.
2) The conflict theory in the topic in my opinion is putting difference between classes. To be more clear putting difference between rich students, middle and poor class is a terrible thing. This discourages students of a certain social class to attend school, or to take out loans. Another issue is that these students and their parents usually don’t have great credit to be able to afford such high schooling costs. Regarding on national survey there’s one-third of community college students are hungry and 14 percent are homeless.
3) I chose this topic because it effects students and teachers combined, it also effects students who have loans. It’s really hard for students who have low paying jobs to go to schools and take out loans, because they will need that money to eat and live first. This is a big social problem and we might not see its dangerous right away, however, society will suffer in the long run if we leave our kids, and youth without education, let them be sidetracked, worst yet allowing them to engage in illegal activities that will harm society.
I have to agree with this response because in our society today, there are many people who are not financially capable of affording tuition or making loans, and these changes can affect them drastically. Some students only afford going to school with the help of FASFA, Pell Grants and other financial aid opportunities that they can get. On the other hand there are many students who get accepted to universities but choose to go to a community college because they can not afford it. According to the article, some community college students are also hungry or homeless. What stood out to me the most about the response that Luiza M. wrote is how students may end up dropping out of school and will leave millions of Americans without an education and a diploma. Because of financial stand points, students will be forced to drop out and not further into their careers. I chose to comment on Luiza's entry because what she wrote was exact and straight forward. This blog post/article really scares me because if this were to happen, many students would be left without an education and would only be working at common places and will never be payed more than minimum wage. This topic made me realize how much people can seriously be affected by the cut of budget cuts. Many students work very hard to keep up their grades in order to receive at least one type of financial assistance. While others, are full time students, but have to manage a job as well to pay for the rest of their tuition that their financial aid may not cover. This topic is relevant to the field of sociology because it shows us how humans can react to such things like this. Sociology is the study of the human society, therefore it reflects on everything we were taught through education. The theories that I can apply is the conflict theory. This article and the change that I am assuming will be happening is putting differences between the three different classes (rich, middle and poor). I believe that this is an issue and should be changed because students should not have to give up on their education because of financial issues.
According to the functionalist perspective everything in education goes hand-in-hand. For example, in order for students to be in school, tuition needs to be affordable. If tuition goes up or financial aids are cut, students will drop out and will lead to no graduates and everyone will be forced to work jobs that only pay minimum wage. Education is a functionalist pre requisite in society. It helps maintain society by socializing young students into working hard and achieving their goals. Being successful in something makes you have a skill set which is important in our society. Education allows students to use their talents in a job that they want to have forever and not work somewhere that is only temporary and will not be able to help them in the future.
1. As Education Budget Cuts, Student Aid Problems and More puts it, recent budget cuts to the education systems will leave many students and families at a loss. Due to these cuts, Pell grants, federal work-study programs and after-schools programs are at risk of being dismantled. This is a social issue because it brings to light how the placement of these funds can change the livelihood of students and entire families. Students that are already struggling to pay for school may lose the opportunity to receive assistance, hindering their opportunity to seek higher education in hopes to avoid defaulting on a student loan. Parents that work past the regularly scheduled school hours may have no programs for their children. This could be severe in two ways; the parent may need to cut down work hours in order to care for their children or the children may find themselves involved in situations that they wouldn’t have, had there been a school program they could have spent their time in. These public issues affect the members of society that seek higher education or families that need care for their children. These after school programs that are being cut and the financial aid that is being denied highlight how unequal opportunities are for different groups and just come to show these obstacles are a problem of the lower class.
2. A conflict theorist would say that these budget cuts were made to suit the bourgeoisie and their interests; keeping the poor under their control. This leaves the different groups of society competing for power and, in this case, most importantly, resources. This is a clear example of the constant struggle between classes. When the resources are taken from those who are unable to pay for school, they are forced into lower paying jobs which typically serve to keep the wealthy rich and which keep them constantly in need of the resources the powerful have. This way, the workers earn low wages, allowing the powerful to control society. Also, with surveys showing student homelessness at a rise, theres is no question who these budget cuts are affecting. It’s those students that already don’t have enough. So while these students are hungry and struggling to stay afloat, money that could help just a little is being placed elsewhere. The price paid for an education is increasing often, increasing loan default rates. One would argue that the powerful have placed all these obstacles in the way to keep the workers down. Because with prices for attending school increasing by almost four-thousand dollars in about 4 years, IRS web tools for financial assistance being “down” for an unknown amount of time and financial assistance being taken away, the lower class has virtually no chance of coming out on top.
3. This blog post showcases one of the many reasons why many people where opposed to Donald Trump and especially, Betsy DeVos. In my personal opinion, she was unable to answer many of the questions asked by, for example, Senator Elizabeth Warren in an educated, well-prepared manner. From what I see in this situation, education and experience of a certain topic are not so important when it comes to who your know or are connected to and how much money you bring to the table. As a student, I commented on this topic because everyone in our class has the possibility of being affected by these cuts. I’m already paying back on a loan that I obtained here and although I have been able to take care of it, I can see how easy it could be to fall behind on payments when you have a low-paying job or are simply “down on your luck.” This is a social problem because everyone if affected by it. Some for the better, some for the worse. This affects how people see those who voted for Trump, how those losing benefits are treated, and those already at a disadvantage.
1.In response to Angelina D, the article “Education Budget Cuts, Student Aide Problems and More” shows how in todays society we rely on the education we receive from our institutions. Education gives us jobs, opportunities and career choices. However having budget cuts can reduce all the hopes we have. Students receive Financial Aid, Pell Grants, after school programs and even free education and most still may have a hard time paying back loans. Imagine a world with out any financial help what so ever. Students would be working extra to pay for school, some parents would be staying home to take care of their kids. Agreeing with Angelina and this article I have to say that budget cuts will affect our society as a whole. Nowadays ,most students receive education thanks to FAFSA which allows them to learn. This topic is very sensitive to me because I’m paying back a loan for a private school I attended. With out the help of FAFSA I would be looking at a $30,000 loan instead of the $9,000 loan. Having the lender give enough time to pay back and a reasonable monthly payment students are able to pay and still continue their eduction. 2.Social class always plays a big role in todays education. Of course the rich don’t care about these issues of budget cuts, they will pay their way into school. Today mainly our middle and lower class are struggling to go to school and pay for it. With help from FAFSA and so many other places these students are able to get education. Applying conflict theory to this article because its all about control, the middle and poor class work to get a education white the rich have it all. Good education helps maintain society by making young people goal oriented showing them skills and equality. Knowing these can prepare you for the bigger world, connecting this to the functionalist theory can show how having a good education can take you places. Most public schools from Pre K- 12th grade are free of course, however after receiving a high school diploma or a GED you must go into a higher level of education by that you need good schooling and help paying for it. Having budget cuts wont get you to any of these. This issue can be a major problem if it proceeds and we can be at risk as a society.
Kimberly Cortes 1.The problem in this article is that due to budget cuts there will be many changes to school programs and financial aid that affect the US student population. This is a social problem because it affects many student throughout america, it primarily affects low income students. The reason it affects low income student because things such as financial aid will be more complicatted to get, pell grants are also at risk to be cut and thats a help low income students get that does not need to be paid back. Apart from the cuts, student are already struggling enough, there is 14% of student in the us that suffer from hunger and homelessness, on top of that student loan rates are rising and many students struggle to pay. With all the cuts its gonna be harder for low income students to be able to afford to go to college. 2. In point of view of the conflict theory we could relate this with the haves vs the have nots because if there are gonna be budget cuts for pell grants and if financial aid will be harder for students to get the lower class of students that dont have a lot of money will be less likely to got to college be cause they will not be able to afford it. The higher class of student it wont really affect be cause the can go to school and pay it off more easy than the low income students. This will give more opportunity to students that go to college to find good jobs, but the low class that can not afford to go to school will suffer with not finding good jobs with more pay and that will keep them from advancing. 3. In my opinion i find it bad that they will be doing budget cuts towards higher level schooling because a lot of people need that financial help and its not fair that they wont be able to get pell grants as well to help students that actually need the help. A lot of students cant afford to pay school then they get loans which takes many years to pay off just to get a decent education that they need to get ahead in life.
I agree a big issue discussed in this article are the cuts President Trump is making to the Pell Grant program which is a very helpful and necessary program for low income students to be able to make it through higher education, another issue not mentioned is the plans to cut after-school programming for kids. Some parents have to work and aren't able to pick their kids up from school and the after-school program is very helpful and used by many, in these programs they have tutors to help kids with homework and interactive games and activities so they don't have to be at home staring at their TV screen. Also applying for college aid has become more difficult, the whole process for applying to college is difficult enough now applying for help is being more restricted. But this article isn't all negative, more charter school are going to be starting which will have a positive impact on the school system.
Marcus Streeter 1) In today society many people who live in the united states are suffering from economic instability. To become successful in America there are a great many obstacles to hurdle over. The most common idea of becoming successful is to get through achieving an education through high school and college. The amount of money to spend to get through college is very high compared to decades ago and to some countries unbelievable. Just recently students of the American education system have just been bombarded because President Trump has decided to release his “skinny budget” which cuts education for Americas schools in poverty and increasing funding for private school programs. This new budget also puts programs like the pell grant and federal work study program at risk. Student loans since 2013 have already raised by $4000. Students depend on aid such as the pell grant and federal work study program to help cope with there economic disadvantage because these programs give money without having to pay it back. This is a social issue because the untapped potential of the brains of todays youth is at risk if being tossed out because of this dilemma. Some people barely even have a chance to get an education and now the chances become slim to none it seems like. How is America as a country supposed to become great if it ignores the individuals who aspire to help develop this country but cant because of money? 2) This issue basicly deals with the difference with the rich and the poor which directly corresponds with the conflict perspective theory. the resources that the poor are given in order to try and better themselves are being set back which creates even more difficulty for the poor to strive forward in society. Of course it’s the rich that make this decision so it is to there blame for this struggle. The thought of having to pay large sums of money and becoming in debt increases the less likeliness of poor people to try and get further in life using education. In conclusion, the rich are putting down the poor. 3) I chose to do this blogpost because its relates to friends, family, and most importantly myself. I am a college student who struggles to pay for school and I constantly have a fear that one day I would have to drop out because I wont have enough money. Who is to say that I cant be the person to make America great again. The amount of money an individual has should not exempt them from being able to achieve an education which also means the amount of money a person has should not define them as being unintelligent because the rich only consume a miniscule percent of Americas population so it is more likely that the majority, the poor, house the next leaders in society .
1. I agree with the idea that higher education is far too expensive and has become more expensive over the years. However, I disagree with the idea that the problem in the American education is a lack of spending. The United States already spends more money per student than any other country. I feel the real reason college is unaffordable is that we have a culture of telling students that they need to go to college to succeed while most students would be better off if they attended things like trade schools. The thing that stood out to me about this blog post is the fact that the price of college has increased by $4000 since 2013. I chose to comment on this blog post because I feel solving the problems of the education system are very complex and the possible solution interest me. It seems the most common argument is that we simply need to spend more money, but as we have seen more spending is not the answer. The more money we spend our countries ranking in education continues to stagnate. This topic is relevant in the field of sociology because public education is a social program and many different social factors are involved. For example, using sociological imagination we can look at the reasons why people cannot afford college and are not able to pay back their student loans. As well as understanding, what is the reason behind colleges and universities charging such obscene amounts of money for tuition. An idea that can be applied to understand the underlying causes of the high prices of higher education is the theories of Karl Marx. He said that when the ruling class (heads of schools) are able to take advantage of the working class (students) then the gap between them will always grow and the working class will go lower and lower. The students are charged more money and most would argue that the quality of education is getting worse. The government, instead of finding the schools responsible for not properly appropriating resources has continued to throw money at the education system without real meaningful reforms.
2. Coming from the interactionist perspective we can assess the effects of not only a decrease of funding for the department of education but also the reasons why students are not able to pay their college tuition and what the solution can be. The interactionalist would look to see what effects the President’s school choice programs would have on the individual student and if it would in turn benefit them more than simply spending more money on public schools that have a long history of wasting money and then insisting that they are broke. Furthermore, the interacionalist would look to understand why students are compelled to pay the high price for higher education instead of looking for alternative career paths that are more suited to them. As well as what effect society’s constant urging that college is a necessity has on the individual students choice to take a student loan that is far more expensive than they can afford.
1-I’m strongly agree with the ideas that Marcus exposes in his discussion because it is not less true that with the release of the “skinny budget” in the education of United States, Trump won’t be only cutting off a representative amount of money assigned to the Department of Education, but also, he will cut off the dream of studying of so many American students pursuing a career. As a result, those students who come from a low income family will be strongly affected because the financial aid programs that public schools offers represent a significant help for this students to pay for their tuition and others necessaries expenses for their education; and with a cut in the education budget many families won’t be or hardly be able to afford their kids’ education. Marcus mention in his analysis something about the idea of making America great again, which made me think for a minute; and I thought, how is this supposed to happen when discrimination and social inequality is increasing every day? When Trumps gives more to who have already enough power, wealth and prestige and take more away from those who live in poverty, taking away opportunities and creating obstacles to make their life miserable. In addition, this is exactly what he is doing when cutting the education budget to give more to private schools, that might be just a luxury form of education. The reason why I chose to comment on this blog post is because after family, education is one of the most important pillars in an individual’s life, due to, it plays an important role in expanding the individual’s knowledge and skills to thrive in life. Besides, I think that this blog post could somehow make more people see how this situation might affect the social structure in our society and shapes what is expected of us. This topic is relevant in the field of sociology because education serves several functions for society like socialization, social integration, social placement and, social and cultural innovation, and if people can’t be educated because they can’t afford the price, then the maintenance and wellbeing of our society will be affected because all these functions cannot be completely fulfilled. Based on a Durkheim theory for a better understanding of the topic being discussed, he theorized that the main functions of education are to bind members of society together – this creates social unity and solidarity. Therefore like the family, education is seen as functional prerequisite because it passes on the culture of a society particularly its core values. This resume how important is education in our lives and how everybody deserve being educated not matter the economic status.
2-From the functionalist perspective, functionalists look at the function or role of an institution in society in keeping the social body ‘functioning’ (working) properly. In this case, education, as mentioned before, plays an important role in the individual’s life by teaching a new generation of children to acquire the ‘central’ norms, values and culture of their society; furthermore, schools are sites of secondary socialization and schooling provides society with people equipped with the right skills to do the jobs society needs. Therefore, everyone should have an equal chance to study and get better, and if the government is willing to maintain two forms of education (public schools and private schools), then both should receive the same economic support from the president because all student’s goals is to become more productive, efficient, and specialized in a certain field for the harmony and wellbeing of society.
Ivan Espinoza 1)The issue with these budget cuts being issued more and more and getting heavily cut down is that many students and their families rely on the help of the Federal Pell Grant because it gives many students money without having to be paid back. The Pell Grant gives away a lot of money to students and isnt a loan so it does not have to be paid back. Many families and students try to avoid at all costs to pull out any loans because of fear of ending up in debt. Cutting money to give out affects families with more than one kid attending college and even families who only have one kid attending college. Majority of students going to college come from the lower and middle working class and those are the families who depend on the grants and money to help out their children. As it is many students are out here suffering, 14% of college students are suffering from hunger and homelessness. Student rates are going up and money coming in is going down. This has been an issue with many trying to pursue a higher education for years now and the problem is only getting bigger. 2)Conflict perspective. Coming from this perspective is another huge issue pretty much the top class versus everyone else. While the middle and lower working classes are working hard and struggling to get their children to college and help them succeed they are being given issues and problems like budget cuts and money cuts, obviously this is something the top class does not have to be worried about as they can afford to send their children to any school they want. This idea of cutting the money budget and making debt seem like a bigger issue discourages many to go out and try to pursue a higher education. The poor see college as "Congrats youre going to college" but in the back of their mind DEBT will always be there, not just for the families sending their kids off but the kids going to college realize it as well. The hunger and homelessness percentage is already at 14% and with this cut is gonna go up and in every middle or lower household sending students to college they will always have the though of debt going on through their head. Rich vs poor, the rich dont get affected but those who look to this money hugely will be greatly affected once again. 3)I chose this blog post because being a student in college you realize how expensive everything really is. But now that i have another sibling graduating high school this year and will be going off to college in the fall, i can already see $$ signs and payments as my parents now have another debt on the back of their mind. Many of my friends and school mates encounter the same issue and FAFSA and Pell Grant and extra money being given are what we rely on to get us through school and with another budget cut we all run the risk of having to pay more, go in debt or not be able to afford to send kids to college.
1. I agree with you completely. After reading the article, it opened my eyes to how hard it is for people to pay for college already and with the recent budget cuts its going to become impossible for some people to continue to go to college. What stood out to me in your analysis is where you said, “ The poor see college as ‘Congrats you’re going to college’ but in the back of their mind DEBT will always be there, not just for the families sending their kids off but the kids going to college realize it as well.” . This is very true and in a lot of ways getting accepted to college is a blessing and a curse. I think everyone that wants to go to college should be able to one way or another so something needs to be done about this. I don't think its fair that only the rich can go to college because those that are less fortunate work just as hard as they do and they want a chance to better their life. Karl Marx’s theory that there are gaps in society because of money is true when it comes to this because the poor don't get well educated and a rich are well educated so there is an even bigger gap between them and the gap is growing. I chose to comment on this topic because being a college student myself, is scares me that the prices for a good education are going up. Even though I'm able to afford college now, I'm hoping I’ll still be able to afford it by the time I get to grad school. This topic affects a lot of my peers and society today so i think we should learn more about this topic and discuss our best options.
2. Although the conflict theory explains this topic well but I think a Functional theorist would also say this is a big issue in society. Functionalist theorists believe that everything in society is connected so if poor people don't go to school, they won’t get good paying jobs and they won’t ever make it out of that status of being poor. Also if they don't become rich, they wont contribute to the society as much and there will be even bigger problems than school.
Luiza M.
ReplyDelete1) Budget cuts in education affect all parts of education for students. Its effects not only students, it also effects teachers. In a field where about 20% of teachers leave the profession in the first three years, budget cuts mean less incentive for educators to continue teaching.
DeleteFurthermore, it effects work hours because increased students means longer teaching hours, and obviously the pay would be effected reversely as well.
Benefits is another area where budget cuts have a tremendous effect, teachers who receive good benefits, whether its healthcare or other benefits through their district become an issue. Teachers will no longer have access to top of the line medical plans, or any other perks that they might have received otherwise.
As for the student, cutting educational budget is something stressful. Students already struggle with paying school loans and things are only going to get worst as we cut budgets, for instance interest rate would go up, alongside with higher education cost, including books and other material. That’s why Education Budget Cuts will only harm our society and students, and leave millions of Americans uneducated.
2) The conflict theory in the topic in my opinion is putting difference between classes. To be more clear putting difference between rich students, middle and poor class is a terrible thing. This discourages students of a certain social class to attend school, or to take out loans. Another issue is that these students and their parents usually don’t have great credit to be able to afford such high schooling costs.
Regarding on national survey there’s one-third of community college students are hungry and 14 percent are homeless.
3) I chose this topic because it effects students and teachers combined, it also effects students who have loans. It’s really hard for students who have low paying jobs to go to schools and take out loans, because they will need that money to eat and live first. This is a big social problem and we might not see its dangerous right away, however, society will suffer in the long run if we leave our kids, and youth without education, let them be sidetracked, worst yet allowing them to engage in illegal activities that will harm society.
Suzy Semerdjian in response to Luiza M.
DeleteI have to agree with this response because in our society today, there are many people who are not financially capable of affording tuition or making loans, and these changes can affect them drastically. Some students only afford going to school with the help of FASFA, Pell Grants and other financial aid opportunities that they can get. On the other hand there are many students who get accepted to universities but choose to go to a community college because they can not afford it. According to the article, some community college students are also hungry or homeless. What stood out to me the most about the response that Luiza M. wrote is how students may end up dropping out of school and will leave millions of Americans without an education and a diploma. Because of financial stand points, students will be forced to drop out and not further into their careers. I chose to comment on Luiza's entry because what she wrote was exact and straight forward. This blog post/article really scares me because if this were to happen, many students would be left without an education and would only be working at common places and will never be payed more than minimum wage. This topic made me realize how much people can seriously be affected by the cut of budget cuts. Many students work very hard to keep up their grades in order to receive at least one type of financial assistance. While others, are full time students, but have to manage a job as well to pay for the rest of their tuition that their financial aid may not cover. This topic is relevant to the field of sociology because it shows us how humans can react to such things like this. Sociology is the study of the human society, therefore it reflects on everything we were taught through education. The theories that I can apply is the conflict theory. This article and the change that I am assuming will be happening is putting differences between the three different classes (rich, middle and poor). I believe that this is an issue and should be changed because students should not have to give up on their education because of financial issues.
According to the functionalist perspective everything in education goes hand-in-hand. For example, in order for students to be in school, tuition needs to be affordable. If tuition goes up or financial aids are cut, students will drop out and will lead to no graduates and everyone will be forced to work jobs that only pay minimum wage. Education is a functionalist pre requisite in society. It helps maintain society by socializing young students into working hard and achieving their goals. Being successful in something makes you have a skill set which is important in our society. Education allows students to use their talents in a job that they want to have forever and not work somewhere that is only temporary and will not be able to help them in the future.
Rebekah M.
ReplyDeleteAngelina D.
ReplyDelete1. As Education Budget Cuts, Student Aid Problems and More puts it, recent budget cuts to the education systems will leave many students and families at a loss. Due to these cuts, Pell grants, federal work-study programs and after-schools programs are at risk of being dismantled. This is a social issue because it brings to light how the placement of these funds can change the livelihood of students and entire families. Students that are already struggling to pay for school may lose the opportunity to receive assistance, hindering their opportunity to seek higher education in hopes to avoid defaulting on a student loan. Parents that work past the regularly scheduled school hours may have no programs for their children. This could be severe in two ways; the parent may need to cut down work hours in order to care for their children or the children may find themselves involved in situations that they wouldn’t have, had there been a school program they could have spent their time in. These public issues affect the members of society that seek higher education or families that need care for their children. These after school programs that are being cut and the financial aid that is being denied highlight how unequal opportunities are for different groups and just come to show these obstacles are a problem of the lower class.
2. A conflict theorist would say that these budget cuts were made to suit the bourgeoisie and their interests; keeping the poor under their control. This leaves the different groups of society competing for power and, in this case, most importantly, resources. This is a clear example of the constant struggle between classes. When the resources are taken from those who are unable to pay for school, they are forced into lower paying jobs which typically serve to keep the wealthy rich and which keep them constantly in need of the resources the powerful have. This way, the workers earn low wages, allowing the powerful to control society. Also, with surveys showing student homelessness at a rise, theres is no question who these budget cuts are affecting. It’s those students that already don’t have enough. So while these students are hungry and struggling to stay afloat, money that could help just a little is being placed elsewhere. The price paid for an education is increasing often, increasing loan default rates. One would argue that the powerful have placed all these obstacles in the way to keep the workers down. Because with prices for attending school increasing by almost four-thousand dollars in about 4 years, IRS web tools for financial assistance being “down” for an unknown amount of time and financial assistance being taken away, the lower class has virtually no chance of coming out on top.
3. This blog post showcases one of the many reasons why many people where opposed to Donald Trump and especially, Betsy DeVos. In my personal opinion, she was unable to answer many of the questions asked by, for example, Senator Elizabeth Warren in an educated, well-prepared manner. From what I see in this situation, education and experience of a certain topic are not so important when it comes to who your know or are connected to and how much money you bring to the table. As a student, I commented on this topic because everyone in our class has the possibility of being affected by these cuts. I’m already paying back on a loan that I obtained here and although I have been able to take care of it, I can see how easy it could be to fall behind on payments when you have a low-paying job or are simply “down on your luck.” This is a social problem because everyone if affected by it. Some for the better, some for the worse. This affects how people see those who voted for Trump, how those losing benefits are treated, and those already at a disadvantage.
Alisa P.
DeleteAlisa P
Delete1.In response to Angelina D, the article “Education Budget Cuts, Student Aide Problems and More” shows how in todays society we rely on the education we receive from our institutions. Education gives us jobs, opportunities and career choices. However having budget cuts can reduce all the hopes we have. Students receive Financial Aid, Pell Grants, after school programs and even free education and most still may have a hard time paying back loans. Imagine a world with out any financial help what so ever. Students would be working extra to pay for school, some parents would be staying home to take care of their kids. Agreeing with Angelina and this article I have to say that budget cuts will affect our society as a whole. Nowadays ,most students receive education thanks to FAFSA which allows them to learn. This topic is very sensitive to me because I’m paying back a loan for a private school I attended. With out the help of FAFSA I would be looking at a $30,000 loan instead of the $9,000 loan. Having the lender give enough time to pay back and a reasonable monthly payment students are able to pay and still continue their eduction.
2.Social class always plays a big role in todays education. Of course the rich don’t care about these issues of budget cuts, they will pay their way into school. Today mainly our middle and lower class are struggling to go to school and pay for it. With help from FAFSA and so many other places these students are able to get education. Applying conflict theory to this article because its all about control, the middle and poor class work to get a education white the rich have it all. Good education helps maintain society by making young people goal oriented showing them skills and equality. Knowing these can prepare you for the bigger world, connecting this to the functionalist theory can show how having a good education can take you places. Most public schools from Pre K- 12th grade are free of course, however after receiving a high school diploma or a GED you must go into a higher level of education by that you need good schooling and help paying for it. Having budget cuts wont get you to any of these. This issue can be a major problem if it proceeds and we can be at risk as a society.
Kimberly Cortes
ReplyDelete1.The problem in this article is that due to budget cuts there will be many changes to school programs and financial aid that affect the US student population. This is a social problem because it affects many student throughout america, it primarily affects low income students. The reason it affects low income student because things such as financial aid will be more complicatted to get, pell grants are also at risk to be cut and thats a help low income students get that does not need to be paid back. Apart from the cuts, student are already struggling enough, there is 14% of student in the us that suffer from hunger and homelessness, on top of that student loan rates are rising and many students struggle to pay. With all the cuts its gonna be harder for low income students to be able to afford to go to college.
2. In point of view of the conflict theory we could relate this with the haves vs the have nots because if there are gonna be budget cuts for pell grants and if financial aid will be harder for students to get the lower class of students that dont have a lot of money will be less likely to got to college be cause they will not be able to afford it. The higher class of student it wont really affect be cause the can go to school and pay it off more easy than the low income students. This will give more opportunity to students that go to college to find good jobs, but the low class that can not afford to go to school will suffer with not finding good jobs with more pay and that will keep them from advancing.
3. In my opinion i find it bad that they will be doing budget cuts towards higher level schooling because a lot of people need that financial help and its not fair that they wont be able to get pell grants as well to help students that actually need the help. A lot of students cant afford to pay school then they get loans which takes many years to pay off just to get a decent education that they need to get ahead in life.
Imani Story
DeleteIn response to Kimberly Cortes..
I agree a big issue discussed in this article are the cuts President Trump is making to the Pell Grant program which is a very helpful and necessary program for low income students to be able to make it through higher education, another issue not mentioned is the plans to cut after-school programming for kids. Some parents have to work and aren't able to pick their kids up from school and the after-school program is very helpful and used by many, in these programs they have tutors to help kids with homework and interactive games and activities so they don't have to be at home staring at their TV screen. Also applying for college aid has become more difficult, the whole process for applying to college is difficult enough now applying for help is being more restricted. But this article isn't all negative, more charter school are going to be starting which will have a positive impact on the school system.
Marcus Streeter
ReplyDelete1) In today society many people who live in the united states are suffering from economic instability. To become successful in America there are a great many obstacles to hurdle over. The most common idea of becoming successful is to get through achieving an education through high school and college. The amount of money to spend to get through college is very high compared to decades ago and to some countries unbelievable. Just recently students of the American education system have just been bombarded because President Trump has decided to release his “skinny budget” which cuts education for Americas schools in poverty and increasing funding for private school programs. This new budget also puts programs like the pell grant and federal work study program at risk. Student loans since 2013 have already raised by $4000. Students depend on aid such as the pell grant and federal work study program to help cope with there economic disadvantage because these programs give money without having to pay it back. This is a social issue because the untapped potential of the brains of todays youth is at risk if being tossed out because of this dilemma. Some people barely even have a chance to get an education and now the chances become slim to none it seems like. How is America as a country supposed to become great if it ignores the individuals who aspire to help develop this country but cant because of money?
2) This issue basicly deals with the difference with the rich and the poor which directly corresponds with the conflict perspective theory. the resources that the poor are given in order to try and better themselves are being set back which creates even more difficulty for the poor to strive forward in society. Of course it’s the rich that make this decision so it is to there blame for this struggle. The thought of having to pay large sums of money and becoming in debt increases the less likeliness of poor people to try and get further in life using education. In conclusion, the rich are putting down the poor.
3) I chose to do this blogpost because its relates to friends, family, and most importantly myself. I am a college student who struggles to pay for school and I constantly have a fear that one day I would have to drop out because I wont have enough money. Who is to say that I cant be the person to make America great again. The amount of money an individual has should not exempt them from being able to achieve an education which also means the amount of money a person has should not define them as being unintelligent because the rich only consume a miniscule percent of Americas population so it is more likely that the majority, the poor, house the next leaders in society .
Gregory N.
DeleteIn response to Marcus Streeter…
1. I agree with the idea that higher education is far too expensive and has become more expensive over the years. However, I disagree with the idea that the problem in the American education is a lack of spending. The United States already spends more money per student than any other country. I feel the real reason college is unaffordable is that we have a culture of telling students that they need to go to college to succeed while most students would be better off if they attended things like trade schools. The thing that stood out to me about this blog post is the fact that the price of college has increased by $4000 since 2013. I chose to comment on this blog post because I feel solving the problems of the education system are very complex and the possible solution interest me. It seems the most common argument is that we simply need to spend more money, but as we have seen more spending is not the answer. The more money we spend our countries ranking in education continues to stagnate. This topic is relevant in the field of sociology because public education is a social program and many different social factors are involved. For example, using sociological imagination we can look at the reasons why people cannot afford college and are not able to pay back their student loans. As well as understanding, what is the reason behind colleges and universities charging such obscene amounts of money for tuition. An idea that can be applied to understand the underlying causes of the high prices of higher education is the theories of Karl Marx. He said that when the ruling class (heads of schools) are able to take advantage of the working class (students) then the gap between them will always grow and the working class will go lower and lower. The students are charged more money and most would argue that the quality of education is getting worse. The government, instead of finding the schools responsible for not properly appropriating resources has continued to throw money at the education system without real meaningful reforms.
2. Coming from the interactionist perspective we can assess the effects of not only a decrease of funding for the department of education but also the reasons why students are not able to pay their college tuition and what the solution can be. The interactionalist would look to see what effects the President’s school choice programs would have on the individual student and if it would in turn benefit them more than simply spending more money on public schools that have a long history of wasting money and then insisting that they are broke. Furthermore, the interacionalist would look to understand why students are compelled to pay the high price for higher education instead of looking for alternative career paths that are more suited to them. As well as what effect society’s constant urging that college is a necessity has on the individual students choice to take a student loan that is far more expensive than they can afford.
Laritza F.
DeleteIn response to Marcus S:
1-I’m strongly agree with the ideas that Marcus exposes in his discussion because it is not less true that with the release of the “skinny budget” in the education of United States, Trump won’t be only cutting off a representative amount of money assigned to the Department of Education, but also, he will cut off the dream of studying of so many American students pursuing a career. As a result, those students who come from a low income family will be strongly affected because the financial aid programs that public schools offers represent a significant help for this students to pay for their tuition and others necessaries expenses for their education; and with a cut in the education budget many families won’t be or hardly be able to afford their kids’ education.
Marcus mention in his analysis something about the idea of making America great again, which made me think for a minute; and I thought, how is this supposed to happen when discrimination and social inequality is increasing every day? When Trumps gives more to who have already enough power, wealth and prestige and take more away from those who live in poverty, taking away opportunities and creating obstacles to make their life miserable. In addition, this is exactly what he is doing when cutting the education budget to give more to private schools, that might be just a luxury form of education. The reason why I chose to comment on this blog post is because after family, education is one of the most important pillars in an individual’s life, due to, it plays an important role in expanding the individual’s knowledge and skills to thrive in life. Besides, I think that this blog post could somehow make more people see how this situation might affect the social structure in our society and shapes what is expected of us. This topic is relevant in the field of sociology because education serves several functions for society like socialization, social integration, social placement and, social and cultural innovation, and if people can’t be educated because they can’t afford the price, then the maintenance and wellbeing of our society will be affected because all these functions cannot be completely fulfilled. Based on a Durkheim theory for a better understanding of the topic being discussed, he theorized that the main functions of education are to bind members of society together – this creates social unity and solidarity. Therefore like the family, education is seen as functional prerequisite because it passes on the culture of a society particularly its core values. This resume how important is education in our lives and how everybody deserve being educated not matter the economic status.
2-From the functionalist perspective, functionalists look at the function or role of an institution in society in keeping the social body ‘functioning’ (working) properly. In this case, education, as mentioned before, plays an important role in the individual’s life by teaching a new generation of children to acquire the ‘central’ norms, values and culture of their society; furthermore, schools are sites of secondary socialization and schooling provides society with people equipped with the right skills to do the jobs society needs. Therefore, everyone should have an equal chance to study and get better, and if the government is willing to maintain two forms of education (public schools and private schools), then both should receive the same economic support from the president because all student’s goals is to become more productive, efficient, and specialized in a certain field for the harmony and wellbeing of society.
Ivan Espinoza
ReplyDelete1)The issue with these budget cuts being issued more and more and getting heavily cut down is that many students and their families rely on the help of the Federal Pell Grant because it gives many students money without having to be paid back. The Pell Grant gives away a lot of money to students and isnt a loan so it does not have to be paid back. Many families and students try to avoid at all costs to pull out any loans because of fear of ending up in debt. Cutting money to give out affects families with more than one kid attending college and even families who only have one kid attending college. Majority of students going to college come from the lower and middle working class and those are the families who depend on the grants and money to help out their children. As it is many students are out here suffering, 14% of college students are suffering from hunger and homelessness. Student rates are going up and money coming in is going down. This has been an issue with many trying to pursue a higher education for years now and the problem is only getting bigger.
2)Conflict perspective. Coming from this perspective is another huge issue pretty much the top class versus everyone else. While the middle and lower working classes are working hard and struggling to get their children to college and help them succeed they are being given issues and problems like budget cuts and money cuts, obviously this is something the top class does not have to be worried about as they can afford to send their children to any school they want. This idea of cutting the money budget and making debt seem like a bigger issue discourages many to go out and try to pursue a higher education. The poor see college as "Congrats youre going to college" but in the back of their mind DEBT will always be there, not just for the families sending their kids off but the kids going to college realize it as well. The hunger and homelessness percentage is already at 14% and with this cut is gonna go up and in every middle or lower household sending students to college they will always have the though of debt going on through their head. Rich vs poor, the rich dont get affected but those who look to this money hugely will be greatly affected once again.
3)I chose this blog post because being a student in college you realize how expensive everything really is. But now that i have another sibling graduating high school this year and will be going off to college in the fall, i can already see $$ signs and payments as my parents now have another debt on the back of their mind. Many of my friends and school mates encounter the same issue and FAFSA and Pell Grant and extra money being given are what we rely on to get us through school and with another budget cut we all run the risk of having to pay more, go in debt or not be able to afford to send kids to college.
Eleni P
Delete1. I agree with you completely. After reading the article, it opened my eyes to how hard it is for people to pay for college already and with the recent budget cuts its going to become impossible for some people to continue to go to college. What stood out to me in your analysis is where you said, “ The poor see college as ‘Congrats you’re going to college’ but in the back of their mind DEBT will always be there, not just for the families sending their kids off but the kids going to college realize it as well.” . This is very true and in a lot of ways getting accepted to college is a blessing and a curse. I think everyone that wants to go to college should be able to one way or another so something needs to be done about this. I don't think its fair that only the rich can go to college because those that are less fortunate work just as hard as they do and they want a chance to better their life. Karl Marx’s theory that there are gaps in society because of money is true when it comes to this because the poor don't get well educated and a rich are well educated so there is an even bigger gap between them and the gap is growing. I chose to comment on this topic because being a college student myself, is scares me that the prices for a good education are going up. Even though I'm able to afford college now, I'm hoping I’ll still be able to afford it by the time I get to grad school. This topic affects a lot of my peers and society today so i think we should learn more about this topic and discuss our best options.
2. Although the conflict theory explains this topic well but I think a Functional theorist would also say this is a big issue in society. Functionalist theorists believe that everything in society is connected so if poor people don't go to school, they won’t get good paying jobs and they won’t ever make it out of that status of being poor. Also if they don't become rich, they wont contribute to the society as much and there will be even bigger problems than school.