RR4: Environment or Education DUE FRIDAY NOT THURSDAY :)

I was very encouraged by Thursday’s presentations by JumpStart and KidWorks. From volunteering at KidWorks, I had
learned that the district of Santa Ana they were located in is one of the lowest performing districts academically, and that made me wonder how an area in the middle of Orange County could be struggling so badly. The Condition of Education Overview states how there is a higher percentage of a number of minorities, including Hispanics, that attend high-poverty schools than Asian and White students. This can be seen at KidWorks in Santa Ana, where the majority of students who come through are Hispanics. JumpStart has seen this problem as well, which is why they have a branch in Santa Ana as well. It is encouraging to see these organizations really invest into the community to help the residents– KidWorks has been in Santa Ana for almost 20 years.

Another statistic from The Condition Report states that in 2011, 14% of students aged 16-24 weren’t in school, or were working. Organizations such as JumpStart and KidWorks are very proactive in telling their students to stay in school and to attend college. This is important because they are able to encourage these students at a young age, thus making the idea of college a possibility for them.

Thursday’s discussion really brought a new mind set for me. KidWorks and Jumpstart are great organizations aim to help children out with learning, their career paths, and their future. Both are located in the heart of Santa Ana, making it the center to help these children out. This city is small, but it contains poverty, education drop outs, and a loss of one self. KidWorks is set out to provide an educational background towards their children. They aim to set goals in their minds early on to lead them towards a better future and career. They do volunteer work like arts and crafts, as well as providing an English learning system for the families with parents who cannot speak the language. KidWorks. In The Condition of Education, it states that “The percentage of public school students in the United States who were English language learners (ELLs) was higher in 2009–10 at 10 percent (or an estimated 4.7 million students) than in 2000–01 at 8 percent (or an estimated 3.7 million students)”. KidWorks want to help those families in the times of need. They don’t want the child to fail because of a lack of communication. Although KidWorks has only four sites in Santa Ana, it has made a huge impact to those families and children in providing them a good foundation to grow and learn. Jumpstart on the other hand, has sites all over the place. They focus only on preschool children, but provide many resources to everyone. Their goal is to instill love of learning and provide extra support to the communities that lack support. At Jumpstart, it is more of a classroom environment where they recruit college students to give back to service. In the reading, it states that “The percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds enrolled in full-day preprimary programs increased from 32 percent in 1980 to 58 percent in 2010z”. What this means is that many organizations, like Jumpstart, has been providing the children with further interest in education by providing the resources and support that they need. Both non-profit organizations has really created a well thought-out system in creating a better future for these children and providing a secure pathway to a better life.

I like that we had an Informatics specialist, Bill Tomlinson, talk on this panel. I thought his talk on complexity was something I had been noticing and struggling with for a while, put couldn’t put words to. As an environmental science major, I know environmental issues are multidisciplinary. But the sheer magnitude of how truly multidisciplinary they are sometimes overwhelms me. The reading talks about the different aspects of environmental issues too by concentrating on how social and environmental issues go hand-in-hand. Smith and Pangsapa dive into changing what it means to say you are for environmental health; that there are different pieces to this ideology, and that perhaps said ideology is one needed to be adopted more widely on our Earth. Abby Reyes’ talk was inspirational. “We’re in the moment; what does that mean?” she asked. There’s a pre-existing system and then there’s a life sustaining society. And the tools we can use with each one are complicated, and the movement towards sustainability is complex. However, we can use this as what we know: things are complex – we need to take into account different aspects of life – environment, ethics, politics, economics, safety, justice, and more- in order to work towards solutions to our problems within our communities.

On Tuesday, Professor Tomlinson’s argument about peak complexity was something I have never thought about before. Humans use complexity to solve problems, but over time, there are diminishing returns and civilizations become too complex. We are also not evolved to think about things that are too complex, which is how peak complexity comes about. Peak cognitive surplus is also another interesting concept. If we all used our free time effectively, we could make the world a better place. This is a very uplifting message that I hope all of us will think further about.
Abby Reyes’s presentation was also eye-opening. She argued that the government should try to increase our quality of life, instead of our standard of living. If we increase the quality of life, there would be less people below the poverty line, thus there would be less social class differences. If we lived in a more collectivist society, where people care about other people, perhaps this would be possible. However, Americans are very individualistic, so I don’t think this will be happening anytime soon.
Therefore, it will be very long until we can develop a life sustaining society that replaces our current industrial growth society. I am all for increasing the quality of life, but sadly, I don’t think many Americans think this way. I keep talking about America’s inability to create a life sustaining society, but that is because that is the world I live in. I know that in some other countries, people are closer to the earth by growing and picking their own food. Unfortunately, America is still steeped in a capitalist society/industrial growth society that we won’t grow out of very soon.
In the reading, the author argues that environmental issues cannot be separated from social justice issues. I suppose this is why Prof. Tomlinson calls it an environmental predicament, because it can’t be solved easily. By granting civil rights equally to everyone, perhaps then we can mitigate our environmental predicament.
The author also talks about how sustainable energy should be a source of green-collar employment by implementing sustainable business practices and increasing the quality of life for everyone. As the guest speakers have said, civic engagement is strongly correlated to environmental sustainability.

The main points that I got from this week’s reading on the condition of education were: 1) Enrollment in Education was increasing. More and more people are seeking an education, which in my opinion is a wonderful thing. 2) Race and social economic status is a big factor that determines the quality of education one gets. 3) It takes a lot of money to support education, and the cost of that support increases every year. 4) More and more people are getting a higher education and there is an increase in the amount of bachelor’s and master’s degrees earned.

This week’s speakers on Education did a wonderful job at representing their organizations as well as getting their points across. While they did not focus entirely on higher education, their focus on childhood education was interesting and I can see why those organizations decide to target younger generations instead of older ones. The reading mentions that success in lower education schooling has a positive correlation with obtaining higher degrees. Jumpstart and Kidworks target younger kids and as they mentioned, most of their kids go on to graduate high school and go on to college. The reading also mentions that enrollment in schools has also gone up so that could explain for why Jumpstart and Kidworks are in need of more volunteers, why there is a huge amount of people on the waitlist for these programs, or why they continue to expand and build more centers. As the speakers mentioned, they help cities with school districts in need (Santa Ana), and that relates to the reading because it mentions that minorities (mostly Blacks and Hispanics) are at risk for not being able to obtain a good quality education because of where they live. I also admire the goals of these organizations and how they play an “empowerment” role in Santa Ana and not a “savior” role. These speakers are truly wonderful people, and have definitely sparked my interest in the non-profit sector.

From reading the Nation Center for Education Statics report, it is obvious that the demographics of public education have been changing through recent years. The statistics show a positive trend for many of the areas that they highlight, such as graduation rate and the amount of students enrolling in college, however some of the negative areas are important to look at. There is a significant amount of students who are below the poverty line and students who are English language learners. Unfortunately the report did not show any statistics comparing the success of various income groups, but I am certain that the lower income groups have a significantly lower graduation rate and amount of kids attending college. This can be related to Kidworks and Jumpstart, who presented in class on Thursday, since they deal with low income neighborhoods such as Santa Ana, where roughly 25% of the population have high school diplomas. Children from parents who are uneducated are at a severe disadvantage since they do not have any family member to help them with their homework. These programs aim to narrow the gap between low income children and their wealthier peers by giving the kids mentors to giving extra homework help as well as provide positive role models. Since I volunteer at Kidworks, I can see first-hand how much these programs inspire the kids to learn and succeed in school.

On Thursday, representatives from Kidworks and Jumpstart came into class and talked about their education programs with kids in high poverty areas. Kidworks is mainly an after school program where children in elementary school through high school can receive academic, social, and mental help. It is a resource available to them in their community. Kidworks has almost been in Santa Ana for 20 years and one of the things that I found most interesting was how some of the volunteers were former students. Why I found that interesting is because they realized that education is the way to create positive change and those former students are perfect examples. They are giving back to something that gave them an opportunity to grow.

One of the statistics that “The Condition of Education” provided was how there is a high percentage of Hispanic students (34%) who live below the poverty line, but at the same time the percentage of Hispanic students have risen from 12% to 23%. Kidworks and Jumpstart programs are essential for students living in areas like Santa Ana because they provide resources and guidance that people around that area are oblivious to. I am wondering if more programs like like Kidworks and Jumpstart could help increase the percentage of those enrolling in school, as well as bringing down the high percentage of those below the poverty line.

The Condition of Education overview was broken up into three sections: Participation in Education in the United States, Elementary and Secondary Education and Outcomes, and Postsecondary Education and Outcomes. Statistics show that there has been an increase in minority races and that these families have been living in below poverty conditions. The increase in population begins with the children. The number of students that have enrolled in public schools varies across the states and range between a 22 percent increase to a 15 percent decrease. Whether the amount of student increases or decreases an investment should be made in the education if the United States. The increase in children require more instructors and better teaching skills while the decrease in children enrolling in school requires more attention and motivation to go to school.
Specific percentages about the increase in public school students include: approximately 37% of Hispanic, 37% of Black, and 29% of American Indian or Alaskan Native students attendeding high-poverty public schools. There are non-profit organizations that voluntarily work with underprivileged children and students to help make their education experience better and motivate a future in higher education. On Thursday November 1, 2012 we had 3 guest speakers from “Kidsworks” and “Jumpstart” join our class for an interactive discussion about what it is they do with their non-profit organization. “Kidsworks” specifically works with children from preschool to 12th grade high school with their academics, computer based learning, and character development. They help disadvantaged children living in low income neighborhoods get the help and attention they need and do not receive at home because of many reasons. “Jumpstart” also works with low-income neighborhoods to help children develop the skills they need to be successful in school and in their future. These programs are working on improving the education if the U.S and in doing so potentially advancing the country to great levels in the future.

In the class, the staffs talk how important education is, the language program and so on. I felt they believed their mission is very important for society. From the reading, I can understand the situation in the US and why they think their mission is very important.
Both organizations pay attention on language, especially “jump start”. I felt strange because speaking national language is commonsense. But in the US, there are a lot of student who learn English as a second language. (10% in 2009-2010 from reading) The problem is not only language. But language is one of the key factors because it effects how much you can understand class. In addition, language is suitable to measure the education level, including reading skill, calculation and other basic skill because if parents are educated, they usually can speak English in the US. Thus, paying attention in English is very efficient way to solve inequality in education.
Hispanic and Black tend to attend highly poverty school and the status dropout rate was generally lowest for Asians/Pacific Islanders, followed by Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. And they are more likely to live in below the poverty line than White and Asian. Thus, education is important for people’s life.
All in all, the missions of the organizations match necessity of society.

Organizations such as KidWorks and JumpStart are important factor to the statistics displayed in our class reading. As the reading suggest more and more Americans have started to enroll in school at the secondary and post-secondary levels, enabling the US to become a more well educated and empowering figure. Just as stated in our class reading, more minority groups such as Hispanics and African Americans are doing better in school, not only with fewer dropout rates but also with more going to college. As the representatives from the two programs were lecturing it was clear why more kids are starting to do well in school, for example one of the Kid works representatives noted that one hundred percent of the high school seniors that were in their program went onto college and most of them came from an Hispanic back ground. This is an astounding number of students going to college considering that many of the kids in Santa Ana struggle to even graduate high school. This example shows the importance of organizations such as Kidworks, which are greatly helping their student participants by helping them build good habits and by teaching them the importance of an education for a more successful and prosperous future. What is astounding to me was why there are not more organizations like Kidworks and JumpStart that create a more positive outlook for our world by producing more educated and outgoing citizens. Many kids they do not see the purpose of acquiring an education because of the way they were brought up or raised, but if someone like Kidworks is there to lead them onto the correct path that does not only create a better future for our nation as a whole but also for that student as well.
The statistics from our reading clearly match the video shown by the Kidworks representatives. Clearly Kidworks has helped transform the city of Santa Ana since it has been in existence for the last 20 years. They have given kids more of a hope and motive to do well in school, which has clearly had effects on the number of kids who are going to higher levels of learning such as college. Organizations such as Kidworks and JumpStart have had a clear influence on the statistics presented our reading, it is through programs like these that we can further expand our education system in this country and help build up stronger and smarter future leaders who will have a big influence and impact on the future of our nation.

The presentations given on Thursday were about education of the environment. Representatives from Jumpstart and Kids Works spoke to the class about the importance of making education available for everyone and improving the quality of at risk communities, like Santa Ana, through education and community programs. The article we read for the class discusses the increasing desire to participate in education, “between 2000 and 2010, enrollment rates increased for young adults ages 18–19 and adults ages 20–24, 25–29, and 30–34; students in these age groups are typically enrolled in college or graduate school … The percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds enrolled in full-day preprimary programs increased from 32 percent in 1980 to 58 percent in 2010…From school years 2010–11 through 2021–22, public elementary and secondary school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 49.5 to 53.1 million students”, as well as many other statistics of increased participation in education. This increase is also reflected in the education panel today, one of the Kids Works representatives pointed out how last year one hundred percent of their high school seniors graduated and got into college. So this desire for higher education is now quickly seeping into at risk communities, such as Santa Ana. Kids Works, which is based in Santa Ana, serves primarily Hispanic students, and the statistics from the article we read highlights the fact that twelve percent more Hispanic students have become enrolled in school from 1990 to 2010. Even though the Jumpstart focuses on preschool students, both non-profit representatives emphasized the importance of going to graduate school and continue to pursue higher education. They both agreed on the statement of “the more degrees the better”. The article touches on an important factor of what comes into consideration when pursuing a higher degree, the salary produced from the career you’re aiming at of which you’re degree will propel you towards, “…In 2010, young adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor’s degree earned 114 percent more than young adults without a high school diploma or its equivalent, 50 percent more than young adult high school completers, and 22 percent more than young adults with an associate’s degree”. However, despite the salary difference, it is still important to realize that grad school is not required for all occupations. At the end of the day, Kids Works, Jumpstart, and the article we read for class all illustrate how education is supposed to empower children and these organizations help them realize that they are capable and they have somewhere to turn for help. Education is a resource used to strengthen your strengths.