Our View: California should invest in college preparation

At last week?s Cal State University Board of Trustees meeting, Gov. Jerry Brown and Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander argued where California should invest its money.

Brown said the state should invest in K-12 education in an attempt to fix what he called the ?K-12 failure,? or the failure of schools to prepare students for college-level courses.

Alexander said higher education still needs funding to help lower-income students get a college degree.

Both Brown and Alexander made valid points as to where California should focus its financial efforts for education.

We at the Daily 49er decided to weigh in on the idea on where more money should be spent.

Brown believes investing more into K-12 will better prepare students for life after high school. Whether it be a continuation into higher education or the workforce, Brown said this is an area of need for financial backing.

Alexander, however, said the state needs to give low-income students a chance at a college education. By helping these students afford their degrees, these students can pay to go to institutions like CSULB.

Alexander also explained more money is needed to cover the cost of remedial courses that universities have to offer.

These classes are expensive to run and impacted, and they cover material that most students should have learned in high school.

This brings us back to Brown?s argument. By spending more money in K-12, Brown hopes to eliminate the K-12 failure.

This makes more students prepared for college and thus cutting the need for remedial courses.

However, being prepared to attend college does not mean the student will be able to afford college.

Our editorial board had a tough time deciding which side to take. Being 49ers, we want to give every worthy student a chance to come to CSULB, even if they cannot afford the costs. Yet, we cannot ignore how much money is being spent on repeat courses.

The editorial board chose to lean towards Brown?s plan. A majority of people get their high school diplomas and not their bachelor?s degrees. We feel it would be more productive to make sure the majority of Californians are properly educated.

We understand not all high school graduates go to college. However, they still need to be prepared for their entry-level jobs. In order to have a more productive workforce, we must focus on the time during which most people are educated, at K-12 levels. In doing so, we hope putting more money toward these schools will properly educate the students who choose to go to college, thus making remedial classes unnecessary ? and cutting the course cost. ?

Source: http://www.daily49er.com/opinion/our-view-california-should-invest-in-college-preparation-1.2806440

shea mcclellin nfl draft 2012 whitney mercilus 2012 nfl draft picks andrew luck andrew luck trent richardson