Bye Gray Davis: Failed Education & Energy Programs

by California voter Friday, Feb. 01, 2002 at 8:50 PM

The California State University provides remedial courses in English and math to almost half its freshmen since our school system is grossly inadequate in paying teachers, providing supplies and providing an education. This is the bitter legacy of the anti-education program of the Friend-of-Ken-Lay (as in Enron), Gov Gray Davis, or rather, no education program, and is an excellent reason for not voting for him on November 5, 2002.

The California State University provides remedial courses in English and math to almost half its freshmen since our school system is grossly inadequate in paying teachers, providing supplies and providing an education. This is the bitter legacy of the anti-education program of the Friend-of-Ken-Lay (as in Enron), Gov Gray Davis, or rather, no education program, and is an excellent reason for not voting for him on November 5, 2002.

Only 53.83% of CSU freshmen were proficient in English and math in the fall of 2001. The CSU system is required to take those students who graduate from high school with at least a "B" average and are in the top one-third of their class. The students who fail the proficiency exams must take the remedial courses in their first 15 months of college. The university executive vice chancellor, David Spence, states that this is due to lack of reading. That is certainly part of the problem. The other part is lack of commitment on the part of the State of California, and whores of the energy companies, like Gov Gray Davis, to commit the resources needed to improve our school system.

While I am certainly glad the students have the opportunity to take these remedial courses, it is outrageous that this problem exists, and further, that it is so serious, with almost half the freshmen not prepared for college.
A serious education program would include the following:
A high school diploma should guarantee admission to any college; it should mean that the student is prepared for college; all education from age 3 through and including college must be free of charge; school should start at age 3; teachers must be paid at least $60,000 a year to start as their job requires a college degree and is of very high importance; all schools must have sufficient textbooks and supplies and the physical environment must be up to code; all standardized tests must be abolished and critical thinking and constant reading must be actively encouraged; at least a "C" on the final exam for each course starting in fifth grade should be sufficient to pass the course; required courses starting in fifth grade should be repeated, with tutors provided, so that the student passes on the second try.

The least you can do right now is stop voting for the Democrat-Republicans as they have no commitment to education whatsoever. We cannot have guns and butter, and these twin parties of capitalism have nothing to offer but war, prisons and the death penalty. Either find a candidate for governor that is seriously committed to education who is not a Democrat-Republican or skip that position on November 5, 2002 ballot.

The news article on this latest report card on the failed Gov. Gray Davis administration is from the San Francisco Chronicle, 1/31/02, "More Entering CSU Need Help to Stay" by Tanya Schevitz, at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/31/MN174355.DTL

The Bailout Watch newsletter of Jan. 31, 2002 provides further information on the anti-consumer Gov Gray Davis and his phony "pro-consumer" scheme to try to save his failed administration, at:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/utilities/st/st002213.php3

The news article on the latest evidence of the Enron-Bush relationship see:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/utilities/pr/pr002212.php3