Discussion One:
What should President Obama do in politics now?
In his second term in power, President Obama should focus on providing amicable solutions to several matters that affect the Americans. One of the issues that are of major concern to me and many other citizens is the college education. It has been noticed before that high school education in the United States has always been given much attention than college education. Luckily, the president in his early New Year speech has addressed this issue of college education being affordable to everyone, but the explicit details, that are associated with this plan, have not been revealed. In his speech, President Obama announced that college education should be made free for the first two years so that workers of the United States can be able to grab a chance to have advanced skills in their fields of specialization. These skills acquired would help them compete internationally and in a favorable manner.
This proposal by the president is a good move and much is anticipated during its implementation. The project will have to go to the house for approval and since it will seem to involve pumping a lot of money, it may face rejection. The rejection may be because of the financial crisis that the world is likely to face in the near future. I would confidently say that no matter what, the proposal is a significant move, bearing in mind that the US population is on an upward trend. Whatever amount it may cost, the program will be worth it because the federal government has made a decision to sponsor three quarters of the funding needed for its implementation. My believe is that the program will be in operation as early as possible and this will be possible through the efforts that the president will put in making it happen as it will be a relief to those that lack the fees to attend college level of education.
Discussion 2:
What should be our College’s (Los Angeles City College) focus and mission?
The mission of Los Angeles College is clearly stated in the mission and core values of this college. However, many aspects of college life, education and interaction should be put under scrutiny in order to ensure that the mission remains to be that focus of this college. Since I joined this college, I have noticed that there is a routine that is being followed that makes the students, the staff and the tutors the directors easily forget their line of duty. Firstly, we should always remind ourselves of the mission of the College: to provide the students with excellent education that will enable them to fully be integrated into the workforce for a better society both locally and internationally. The chief focus of our college should be on excellence, diversity and innovation. The three aspects seem to be a downhill at this college.
This culture of adopting of the new technology in the diversifying of the areas of study in this college should be at a rise. Students should be given the opportunity to carry on with innovations by using the available technology and this will be the ultimate step towards achieving excellence. Apart from these aspects, the college administration should make the education in this institution to be affordable. This will ensure that the students that hail from financially challenged communities’ access that education equally to those that are financially well off. In so doing the college will be accommodating excellence as its focus in an all-round perception.
Discussion 3:
What is the state of Education in ours State?
The human capital has always been subject to the prosperity that has been realized in the state of California. This hard work by the many in this state has not been a blessing to the prosperity that everyone expects, which is contrary to my first statement. An estimated one third of the families in the state of California are categorized under low-income earners making the state the first in ranking of working low income families. This condition has been attributed to the unpleasing state of education in California. While studying the reports that were submitted by Public policy institute of California, I noticed that this state has the highest number of adults that do not have a diploma or an equivalent in United States of America. It further gives us an insight that, very few adults aged 24 years have gone past ninth grade education. This information clarifies the state of poverty, unemployment and the large number of people depending on public cash assistance.
The solution to this problem should be increasing the number of students that join colleges. Adult enrollment increase in these colleges should also be taken into consideration in order to at least guarantee graduates a job. Therefore, exceptional attention should be focused on the higher education reforms and investment. The systems should be revisited and adjusted to allow more intakes and the employment of more tutors to complement the process of learning for excellency. This strategy of pumping funds into the higher education system should be a comprehensive one, that is, the public K12 education and adult higher education. Remedial classes should be availed for adults to easily diplomas in their convenient time.
.Discussion 4:
What can be done to “fix” the LAPD and LA Sheriffs?
The Los Angeles Police Department and its Sheriffs have proved to be a major challenge in State of California. Firstly, the LAPD has been working with few police officers and even after the number of recruits was increased to 10,000, there seems to be a crisis of qualified candidates. The chiefs in this department have also shown their dissatisfaction with the current trend of few trained police officers. Worse is that they do hire more officers yearly to cater for the deficit. In brief, the prison reason for this streak of problems in the LAPD is the many cases of corruption that are noticed in this department that are under investigation by the FBI. The locals also have mostly lost trust in these police officers.
In an attempt to save the situation and bring reforms, a new Sherriff should take over and a system of proper training of officers to be implemented in order to keep the county from falling apart. The new Sherriff should focus his efforts on addressing the status of the county jails that have been ignored for long. The staff that commands the county should also be reshuffled and if necessary be replaced to eliminate cases of promotions that had been done in favoritism and were not procedural.
References
Glenn, R., Panitch, B. R., Barnes-Proby, D., Williams, E., & Christian, J. (2003). Training the 21st Century Police Officer: Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department. Santa Monica: RAND Corp.
Edwards, R., & Call, K. (2009). Barack Obama: United States President. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Staley, C. C., & Lewis, R. (2010). Focus on community college success. Boston, Mass: Wadsworth.
O’Banion, T., & American Association of Community Colleges. (1997). A learning college for the 21st century. Phoenix, Ariz: Oryx Press.
