Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Election Issues 2017


Election Issues 2017


        Gettin' to know you, Gettin' to know all about you..




        Julie Andrews



It seems like everyday people, including myself, are involved with some type of discussion concerning politics and the “highly publicized election” between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Because it is so surreal, it also has world wide attention. This presidential campaign has in many ways become a question of character. Who are the candidates? (Article 1)
Even though Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both have incredibly loyal supporters, the two candidates also inspire some intensely negative feelings among voters. Both are the two most unpopular candidates since modern polling began. (Politics 2016)For Clinton, it's the way she seems to protect her privacy at all costs(trustworthy?). For Trump, it's how he seems to crave public attention and says almost anything to get it.  What scares me about this man is his degrading demeanor with people in general and his opinionated views on civil rights and social issues.  If he is elected, will progress in these areas come to a halt?  I believe most people are doing some very deep “soul searching” so that they can make a decision at the voting booth. One of the candidates claims to be a “Champion for Everyday Americans”, and the other claims to be the definition of the “American Success Story”. The issues that the candidates will face are many and the public demands proposed answers and solutions to the problems of those issues during their campaigning.  “What are the issues in this election that matter most to you???  Jobs and the Economy,Education and College, Energy and Environment, Immigration, Tax Policy Health Care, Foreign Policy and Defense, Social Issues, Terrorism, or Guns and Violence.  They all have to be addressed by our next president.  All of these issues are important and affect all of us. I would like to focus in on two issues that are directly related to me and were touched upon by all of the socio-educational authors that we have covered so far.. One of them is Education and College, and the other is Social issues. In doing so, I will correlate relationships between the candidates and the views of some of the educationalist and authors that we have been discussing.  Donald Trump would like schools to compete (charters, vouchers, magnet schools) He states: Competition is why I'm very much in favor of school choice. Let schools compete for kids. I guarantee that if you forced schools to get better or close because parents didn't want to enroll their kids there, they would get better. Those schools that weren't good enough to attract students would close, and that's a good thing. For two decades I've been urging politicians to open the schoolhouse doors and let parents decide which schools are best for children.(http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trump_Education.htm) 
I believe Allan G. Johnson would claim that doing so would be the end of good public schools. Better charter or magnet schools would drain the top kids out of that system, or hurt the morale of those left behind. Suddenly, the Issues of Difference and  “Privilege” including” Race Privilege” comes into play and the selected ones again get better opportunities. Lisa Delpit would say that 
this is an aspect within the “Culture of Power”, whereby success in schools 
and institutions, are predicted by the acquisition of the culture of those who are in power.
One of Hillary Clinton’s educational themes during this campaign election echos some thoughts by some educators; “Let's get back to schools where kids are socializing, and there should not be a single public school in our country where any person wouldn’t want to send their child.
(http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Hillary_Clinton_Education.htm) She says that at the turn of the last century there were all the immigrants, and the schools were the place where kids would socialized--where they were given the chance to learn how to fit in and conduct themselves. She claims that we're leaving too many kids to raise themselves; it does take a village to raise and teach a child. The public school system has been, I believe, second to the Constitution, the most important institution in making America the great country that we have been over the last 200 plus years. Margalynne Armstrong and Stephanie Wildman in examining systems of privilege would reference to their “Power Line Exercise” where each student would be asked to consider themselves in relation to a power line that separates privileged and non-privileged categories. Students are more open to examining their own privileges having built the trust in classmates in the observations exercises of each.


SOCIAL ISSUES




  • Mr.Trump is opposed to marriage rights for same sex couples and in favor of traditional marriages.
  • Mr.Trump requires everyone to use the public restroom corresponding to the sex listed on his or her birth certificate.
  • Mr Trump is pro-life,but was originally pro- choice,  I have evolved.he said.
  • Mr. Trump will repeal ObamaCare , if elected.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hold opposing views on many social policy Issues
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have starkly different stances on social issues like criminal justice, gun rights and abortion.



SCWAAMP
Knocking on the glass.

  • Mrs. Clinton is in favor of marriage right for same sex couples.
  • Mrs. Clinton requires everyone to use the public restroom corresponding to the sex listed on his or her birth certificate.
  • Mrs.  Clinton supports abortion rights supporters.
  • Mrs. Clinton will defend Obamacare, if elected.
     

In conclusion, I would like to relate the ideas of Privilege, Power and Difference (Allan G Johnson) to the political system especially to the candidates in this 2016 presidential election. I would have to say that they are privileged, powerful, and different. Allan Johnson would say “Privilege is always a problem for people who don’t have it, and for people who do, because privilege is always in relation to others”. Concerning this upcoming election, I would like to leave you with this question; “Are the Potential Political Leaders, Democrat or Republican, more interested in protecting their power and privilege than doing what is right for the American people ?

2 comments:

  1. Al, I really appreciate your final question: "Are the Potential Political Leaders, Democrat or Republican, more interested in protecting their power and privilege than doing what is right for the American people?" The question is especially relevant with two candidates who both have so much power and privilege in our nation.
    I like the issues that you decided to break down as well. Trump's perspective on education surely does not factor in the privilege and structural racism present in our current educational system. It would be interesting to see the candidates take a moment to discuss educational perspectives.

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  2. I also liked your last question, and the first thing that came to my mind was, yes, especially this year, but I think it has been common for many presidential elections. I loved how you gave us presidential standpoints based on SCWAAMP. It really helped to see a visual of these things, and actually made me more interested in feeling comfortable approaching SCWAAMP with my kids. Thank you for posting that!

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