What Do I Do?

Welcome to your class blog!

Every month or so I will ask you one question to respond to on our class blog. The questions will change from month to month. You may have to reflect on world news, yourself, or think about what we did in class.

The requirements:

• Minimum of ONE paragraph, maximum of TWO.
• Do not repeat what someone else has said! If you agree/disagree with someone, say that and explain why.
• Make sure your responses are on topic.
• Support your opinion. If you use outside sources, make sure you submit the citation information or link.
• Proof-read! Do not submit something that is not edited or is grammatically incorrect.

English Incentive 2010-11

Welcome Back!

I have decided to combine the blog from last year, to this year's blog. Feel free to comment on each other's posts - no matter what year you are in. To the Incentive 11's - please keep the comments appropriate and on task.

This blog is for:

• Star
• Kevin
• Tony
• Nicky
• Sanya
• Brenda
• Kelly
• Alisa
• Tiffany
• Hans
• Michael
• Sammi
• Shannon
• Kathy

Our other class blog, which you can also comment on, is here.

Title Pending Due to Budget Cuts

I have always been aware that there have been budget cuts but like most people I did not realize the scale this was being done on. How could the budget be cut by millions of dollars without people realizing. I think they should implement a policy where any budget changes over a certain amount of money should be announced in a public announcement and in multiple languages. If they are deciding what to do with tax payers money we should at least be informed. As for whether students should have a say in this, I don't think it would be a good idea. Not everyone is mature and there are some who may desire a weaker school system in the hopes that they won't have to work as hard. In addition to this your parents can vote and they should care enough about your education and future to take action. What you should do is make sure your parents are aware of what is happening so that they can take action on your behalf.

No...It's An Oligarchy.

I am not one who is very well acquainted with the politics of the province of BC or even Canada as a whole. I read a little hear and there, but it is nothing substantial. However even these failing ears on mine can hear the voices of the people if they shout enough. The people say that there have been many budget cuts. However that isn't what interests me, after all by definition our provincial government loves budget cuts. Anyway it appears that once again the schools are going to get cut funding. I think this time it is about 9million? I'm not too sure anymore. I wonder...how much more can BC take before the federal government realizes that though in name our government is owned by the people, currently the government belongs only to itself. Maybe we should petition for some body to help us. But who i wonder? Certainly not our current Narcissistic Provincial Government.

The Flaw In The Budget

Although the Canadian government is trying their best to improve the living condition of the majority, it feels like the government officials are lacking the ability to use the money in the budget efficiently. It is true that the government is non-profit organization, and its pure intention is to assist the people in the country, they are not doing well enough to meet the people’s expectation. I am well aware of the budget cut implied on all schools: it is a sign of the government lacking money. I am extremely not satisfied with the Canadian government. Canada has one of the highest taxes among the developed countries in the world, such as China, United States, etc. It is evident that its development as a whole country is much slower in comparison to the other countries. China for example, has no sales tax. Although it has income tax, many rich people and corrupt government officials can successfully and illegally escape the income tax, since it is not directly taken out of their salary.The economic improvements of Canada are pale in comparison to that of China. Now looking at the United States, their taxes are also much less than that of Canada; in some states, there is no sales tax. It is true that the United States is in enormous debt due to the economic crisis, the debt did not stop the Americans from advancing in technology and other aspects. What is making all these differences? First of all, the Canadian government are TOO democratic, they cannot agree on any resolution without a vote. Elections cost too much money, and usually without any useful outcomes. Remembering last year’s federal election, the government spent almost 300 millions on it, and what was the outcome? Nothing changed! The government are too wasteful in helping the poor, while not improving the situation at all. For instance, they build a whole building to provide shelter for the poor, and the result is many people reject living in there and stayed on the street. We are all aware of the fact that China has a huge population of poor and desperate people, yet ironically, even the poorest has a house to live in, whereas in Canada, many live on the street. It is evident that the more the government attempt to help the poor, the worse the situation will become. In conclusion, the government are too inefficient, too wasteful, and the budget is not properly divided.

The School system needs the HST and YOu

Thirty four million dollars, a great lost indeed. An economic recession, later the 2010 winter olympics, losing money is inevitable. The government is partially responsible for the budget cuts on our socially owned public school system, and they are doing their best to help. Since the school system is government owned, they have they liberty to allocate the wealth they share. When the government has more money, they will increase budget funding. Currently, the controversial HST is undergoing a political heated debate, whether the excution of this new tax reform is needed. All I can say is if we need more money for our education, then the government must take more of our pocket money to fund it, therefore the introduction to the HST is imperative. With the extra tax money we pay, the government will earn more money, and will have the ability to mitigate financial stress such as debts, maintenance and funding. The only two powers a teenager possess to ameliorate this finanacial complication is by one, get hired and two, spend money. By getting hired, you have created a job. The government wants us teenagers to get a job so our paychecks will subsidize their financial needs through spending and circulating cash. For our school district to fluorish once more, the taxes will be harmonized and the jobs must be created. All workers shall unite to forge a stronger Canada for the better future!

My Post in Revision (The last one sucked.)

So, as the title of the post would suggest, I have completely rewritten my post. The original was poorly written; and as I have been profoundly bored as of late, I have pondered the question some and come up with a more personally engineered response. So voila, ici: my new post.

While it is aggravating to note how much the British Colombian government has cut back on our school's budgets as of late, one has to wonder whether it may be deserved. The government provides our schools with funding for a reason: that they may provide all students in the province with an appropriate education. If we are to define an "appropriate education" as an education which stimulates every child in a class at least 80% of the time, as well as preparing each child for their future (providing them with the knowledge they will need to keep themselves healthy in mind, body and spirit), we can safely conclude that our schools are not making appropriate use of government funding. If this is the case, should the government really be providing the schools with large amounts of money? Many of the programs our schools run are redundant. Our PE classes (sorry Ms Barley), could use an updated curriculum. Cooking and art classes have relatively little value, and many of the language courses are biased towards people who already have a background in the language. Add to the outdated curriculum the lack of interesting course material and we have a slight problem on our hands. In the end, the question comes to: Are schools making appropriate use of government funding? Clearly the government concluded that our schools weren't being practical. It isn't schadenfreude if there's a method to the madness, and we have no right to complain about fair decisions.