Thankfulness...

                                  Cultivating Thankfulness...



     In just one week my favorite holiday will be here. Each year it seems that Thanksgiving gets more and more hidden between the plethora of Halloween costumes, and the overabundance of Christmas decorations. I have often thought that stores don't make much money from Thanksgiving, and that is why it seems almost forgotten by the retail industry. Indeed, there is a possibility that as we progress, and technology takes over, that unless there's an app for it, it won't exist. Currently there is a great need in our world to develop appreciation, which goes hand in hand with cultivating thankfulness. 

     If Thanksgiving were to evaporate away in the future, we as a country would lose a vital connection to our early history. The Pilgrims and the Native Americans forged a bond, and it had a connection to eating together. The focus was the sharing of knowledge and food. The tradition of cooking a turkey with stuffing, and having cranberry sauce, along with pumpkin pie stems from the core of the holiday, which is food and friendship. If Thanksgiving eventually fades away, it won't be due to a food shortage, but rather a failure to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

    Recently I was working to find housing for a homeless woman, and I felt the desperation and exhaustion that come from a lack of basic needs. It forced me to drive home that day with a renewed gratefulness for what I have. It was a good reality check for me. Sometimes I do take what I have been given for granted. 

   Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because its not about the gifts, but about family and friends and cooking for them. I also love this holiday because it causes    us to slow down a bit, and reflect on our blessings. The fact that it ends with a piece of pumpkin pie doesn't hurt either.

~Kathy~

Education in California...

                        Education in California...who is to pay?


   Once upon a time, California had two of the top college systems in the United States, with the CSU system and the UC system. Compared to other states, these two systems were very affordable for the quality of education that you were getting. Sadly, times have changed from the 70's, 80's and even 90's or early 2000's. Increasingly, students have had to carry the burden of huge loan debt to pay for a CSU or UC education. According to numerous studies, the average student loan debt by the time a student earns a Bachelor's degree is $26,000. That is astronomically high, and predicted to rise even higher. What can be done?

   Numerous proposals have been made by educators, administrators, the governor and others, but currently it seems that many in the educational field are putting all of their eggs into the basket of Prop. 30. Basically what this Prop. 30 will do is tax those who make over 250,000/year to help fund K-12, community colleges and universities. It is predicted that if Prop. 30 doesn't pass, then a community college will lose $9 million in the current year.This is a dire situation, however, it took years to get into this situation...and Prop. 30 is only a band-aid solution. 

  The real tragedy here are the students, as approximately one in four students at a Bay Area Community College cannot get into an entry-level English or Math class. Many programs have had to cut their course offerings severely  which has resulted in overloaded classes.This delays the ability to transfer to a 4-year college, and increases the costs for the students who are affected by these cutbacks. In addition, overcrowded classes put an extra burden on the instructor, and stretch the amount of time and attention given to the students who may be having difficulty in the course.

  I believe that there are other potential solutions to the budget problem that haven't been put into place as of yet. Rather than asking the wealthy to shoulder the burden to keep our schools from having to make more drastic cuts to education, why not ask the top heavy administration to take salary cuts, and decrease the number of administrators. Surely, that would be more fiscally prudent in the long run.

  To raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for public education doesn't make logical sense either because many who have the financial means to send their children to private colleges, do just that, bypassing the public education system altogether. So, why would people who are not personally invested in the public educational system feel a desire to be taxed in order to allow it to survive?

~Kathy~