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San Mateo County, CA November 7, 2006 Election
Smart Voter

Why are our children failing?

By Jeffrey Tong

Candidate for Trustee; San Mateo County Board of Education; Trustee Area 3

This information is provided by the candidate
Public K-12 schools are no longer a place of learning - they're in the business of securing government funds via student testing!
Why is it that high school exit exams test 12th grade students at only a 10th grade reading level? Why promote students to the 11th grade, let alone the 12th, if they can't handle 10th grade work? Elementary schools were once called "grammar" schools because that was where one could learn grammar. Today, our schools lack purpose because our policymakers lack vision!

Because of perpetual budget cuts over several decades, schools eliminated the most valuable courses like vocational education, and deferred true learning opportunities to higher levels of schools where one must pay to learn anything of value! Colleges are now the de-facto finishing school, yet over 50% of students entering college have major psychological problems, and over 80% never graduate.

What happens when schools lack purpose? Young adults lack purpose, vision, and hope! Having too much time on their hands, they engage in crime, alcohol, drugs, gambling, prostitution, and other vices. In a society where only SELFISHNESS is valued, self-centered public policies leave young adults to drift aimlessly through life, while senior citizens idle their time away (e.g. playing bingo games) in senior centers. In contrast, seniors could mentor young adults with their lifetime of wisdom, while the young could mentor seniors with their technological knowledge. When there is no longer a social connection between generations - when neither young nor old have anything to contribute to one another, social decay takes root and spreads: first people lose their self-respect, then they disrespect others, then their community collapses, followed by society, and ultimately civilization itself!

Help our children, schools, neighborhoods, and nation - elect policymakers with accountability, leadership, and true vision!

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ca/sm Created from information supplied by the candidate: November 5, 2006 20:45
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