Learning is Power... and unbalanced.

            A public education is something, in the United States, that is our right.  But, at the same time, it is also a legal mandate that we attend.  Public school districts are drawn by the state, and are based off of population.  Once the district is formed, it is up to the school board to determine what schools the students will attend.  In large districts, there are multiple elementary, intermediate, middle, and high schools.  What this means is that a certain neighborhood will fall under the zoning of one school, and other neighborhoods will fall under others.  There is an underlying problem with this system.  Let’s take a look at the one neighborhood.  This is where the “upper class” citizens call home.  You drive down the street and see beautiful homes with Range Rovers parked out front next to a perfectly green lawn.  (Please note that this is just an example).  One can take a wild guess as to what kind of public school (unless they are enrolled in a private school) they go to.  The school receives a large amount of funding.  The school has the latest technologies, such as iPads and Smart Boards.  They tend to employ teachers who have impressive degrees and come from somewhat similar neighborhoods as well.  These students are being prepared to become doctors, lawyers, politicians, and CEOs.  But, across town, is the other school.  This school serves the middle and lower class neighborhoods.  The school houses all of your average kids from average families.  This school doesn’t receive as much funding for things such as computers.  The faculty is counting down the days until retirement.  These students are being prepared to enter the workforce and other jobs of that nature.  As you can see, there is an imbalance in the public school system, an imbalance that needs to be addressed.

Good Ol' Rednecks

            I’m actually excited for our blog prompt this week.  I’m from a community that, according to urbandictionary.com, “will remind you that racism and bigotry are still strong in America when you see a confederate flag bumper sticker crookedly stuck to the back of a 90's style Ford Mustang.”  The way I perceive “rednecks” is not positive.  I believe that they are people who practice racism, and are very obnoxious about it.  I know that people of the upper class can be racist, but they handle it in a dignified manner.  The rednecks from Granbury are very vocal about their beliefs in racism.  You can see this through the bumper sticker display they have covering the tailgate of their truck, which is “jacked up” to an illegal height.  They are the people who talk with an extreme “hick” accent.  They also run around telling the world of their adventures of illegal hunting, or there trials in the rodeo.  The community is equally divided between rednecks, and the “normal people.”  The normal people keep to themselves, as do the rednecks.  There is very little interaction between the two social groups.  I know this a sad reality, but there will always be a divide in class in America.