Although citizens are directly participating in with my
community partner at Valley Oak High School, many of them are not yet old
enough to vote. In this way, it is their parents and guardians that have the immediate
relationship with my community partner. In addition, the high school is working
to train the students to learn how to be active citizens in the future and
learn how the government works. It is important for my community partner to
teach these young individuals why it is important to participate in their
democracy by voting because it can make a difference. As for the adults, they
have a relationship with my community partner by being able to volunteer with
the school. In addition, citizens have some control over how the high school
functions by voting in the local school supervisors when they are up for
election.
As briefly noted above, citizens have a most basic interaction
with my community partner through their ability to vote and elect school
supervisors. Citizens have the ability to elect school supervisors that want to
continue directing funding at a continuation high school like this one.
Citizens also can interact on another level with my community partner by
donating supplies, money and other necessities to the high schools that are in
need of funding. In the case of Valley Oak High School, the school caters
especially to those students that are low-income and are often those received reduced
or free-lunches. This means that the school is less likely to have parents who
are willing to volunteer their time or donate their money to help improve the
school. It is up to other adults in the community to see the needs of these
students and help by offering grants and supplies to the teachers and staff to
help improve the environment of the school for these students.
After observing at the school today, it came to my attention
that there is little funding available to many of the teachers, especially my
sister who is trying to start up their first real P.E. program. In a
conversation she had with a fellow teacher today, I learned that there are very
few grants that are awarded to the teachers that give them the freedom to use
the money to purchase the materials that are more needed for the classroom.
Instead, the money comes with requirements that do not always address the specific
needs of the students. If more citizens gave private donations without strings
attached, teachers would be more able to use the money to address the specific needs
in their school. Although voters do not necessarily have control over how
teachers are able to use money, they at least have the ability to direct more
tax dollars towards schools to help improve the situation. For example, Prop 30
which was passed this year in California helped to direct more funding towards schools
and teachers. In this way, citizens interact with my community partner.
Although it is much less common, citizens have the ability
to interact with my community partner by volunteering and directly helping
students. This is a common occurring in regular school, but this is not the
case with a continuation high school that caters mostly to low –income students.
Most parents of low-income students do not have the time to take off work to
volunteer at the school to help with various tasks. If other people volunteer at
the school, they can help by assisting students in various subjects. In
addition, these students need the extra push to help get them more interested
in school and more focused on their future. The extra attention from volunteers
can help make a difference in their lives by helping the students better
understand their material or get them interested in a career for the future.
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