Education

The education system issue in our country is just plain aggravating.  I believe this because I think most people want children to receive the best education they possibly can.  We all know that the world will benefit from this, but with countless complicated factors at hand, this is not our reality.   Most people are in agreement that education is one of the most vital influences in a child's life.  The future of our country, and the world for that matter is ultimately dependent on educating children, which creates spillover benefits to society.  This is a huge responsibility that is proven to be falling short more and more with every passing year.  Everyone from presidents to city council members rally for improving education every year, but every year the education system continues to get worse and worse.  I believe many contributing factors go into our failing school systems, which include the federal and state’s conflicting standards, the non centralized system, the tenure that some teachers receive and the way we choose to segregate and teach children by their age.  (I found the first video about changing the teaching paradigms to be very interesting).

The film, Waiting For Superman was informative and I strongly agreed with the film’s perspective on how the world around school systems has been changing for decades but the school systems have stayed the same.  I found the film interesting, I also found it filled with examples of how the school systems are broken and not much attention shed on solutions.  But like the film, I also feel the ‘powers at be’ have also only shown us bad examples of what an education system is, instead of focusing on executing one successfully.  Attempts have been made such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which was passed ten years ago.  This Act was successful at shedding much needed light to the problem, but it has yet to produce the successful results we were hoping for.  Finding a solution to this overwhelming issue has proven to be nearly impossible.  Many of us are very passionate about this issue but do not have the answers or resources to begin repairing this broken system.  With Arizona sitting at the number 49 spot in terms of education and with more budget cuts in the works for the future, this issue not only affects me as a concerned citizen but as a student as well.      

If I were to choose a particular city

If I were in a childless couple looking to move to Phoenix, AZ, I would choose to move into the Central Business District (CBD) or Downtown Phoenix area, also referred to as zone number one, according to the concentric zone model for urban growth.  Although some may argue that gentrification can pose negative conflicts onto a community, a young and childless couple could gain from the growing gentrification currently occurring in the Downtown area.  Depending on what stage this couple’s professional lives are in, the Downtown area could provide them with either the convenience of a nearby university (ASU) or plenty of job/career opportunities.  All of the urban indicators of the Downtown area should be considered, especially the area of cost of housing.  Whether both are students who earn small incomes or high earning professionals, Downtown Phoenix has housing opportunities to meet either needs.  The Downtown area has both affordable housing, which are the older houses surrounding the city and higher priced luxury condos and high rises located in the center, both located in close proximity to work and school. For a couple who does not have the financial responsibilities of children, a downtown condo would be a great option compared to a suburban neighborhood, which in some cases may provide more space, but may also be more expensive per square foot of land and house. 

According to the Alonso Model, living closer to a CBD is much more cost effective, especially when considering transportation costs.  Phoenix as a whole is a very spread out city and when factoring in gas prices, parking fees, and insurance payments into a budget, these costs start to add up, not to mention the harmful pollution that is being contributed to the air.  The light rail located right in the middle of Downtown is both a cost effective and greener alternative to commuting in a car back and forth around the surrounding cities of Phoenix.     

I am a single student with no children attending ASU at the downtown campus, and I have made the decision to move Downtown.  As a college student, who is not earning very much income at the moment, deciding to make the move to Downtown Phoenix makes the most sense for me.  The two most concerning issues for me when deciding on whether or not to move was the transportation and parking costs.  The factors that contributed to my final decision is the convenience of the light rail, the affordable housing, and the job opportunities that are all located within walking or biking distance to ASU.  I also believe in the theory of taking an existing neighborhood that has potential to meet all of my needs and making the most of it.  Building a city out instead of up in most cases seems unnecessary and has many negative factors including environmental conflicts and transportation issues among many others.         

Introduction

Hello everyone,

My name is Janine Button, this is my first semester at ASU, and my major is social work.  I chose social work because I feel as though this field of study incorporates all the things I enjoy.  Social workers are given the opportunity to work with all different kinds of people, given the opportunity to apply psychology and sociology, and most importantly, are given the chance to help others and make an impact on people and society.  I just moved to Phoenix last week from Sedona where I was attending Yavapai Community College.

Unfortunately I was not in last weeks class, so I don't know what was discussed, but from our readings, I did find the symbolic and material policies to be interesting.  The symbolic policies arise from concerns of the general public.  Because of this public concern, the symbolic policy seems to be the most informal and possibly the most passionate of policies.  The reading mentioned that The Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the 1986 Oil Pollution Act both arose from the public's concern to ensure the survival of rare plants and animals and the concern about increasing pollution.  I think both of these acts among many others are very important and it is because of these symbolic policies that protection for our environment has taken effect.  I like that the public's voices and concerns are heard and implemented.