On March 4, 2011 an article was published by Mr. Andre Jackson in The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) concerning budget cuts for HOPE scholars and Pre-K students. The article can be found at the following web site, http://www.ajc.com/opinion/the-hope-scholarship-keep-861299.html. Mr. Jackson reported views on behalf of the Editorial Board of the AJC. Where he cautions the General Assembly to think about all of the students this budget cut is going to affect not only now, but the students in the future. Denying students an education is ultimately going to take a toll on the state. Students who cannot afford nor obtain financial aid here will begin to move away to other states where they can obtain financial aid and become educated. Educated minds can attract better paying jobs that enrich communities so other states would benefit instead of Georgia. The Pre-K program will have their class time reduced by one-third under this budget cut. Early childhood education should remain a high priority, because teaching young children at an early age reduces the expenses of remedial work later on. It is important that the State of Georgia continue to invest in their students education, because they are our future.
The HOPE scholarship was introduced by Georgia’s former Governor Zell Miller, its stipulations were to earn a grade-point average of 3.0 and the state would pay your tuition at any state schools. Supporters for the scholarship wanted to provide a way for Georgia students who were willing to work hard and wanted to go to college. Therefore they formulated a way for them to attain their dreams, by funding the HOPE Scholarship. The scholarship has been “down sized” because the lottery proceeds has not been able to keep up with increase of students and the cost of tuition. Now in order to be fully covered by HOPE a student’s grade-point average has to be at least a 3.7 or better, which cuts out a lot of students because not everyone is capable of meeting that criteria.
The argument commits a fallacy of relevance, and to be exact the argument is a direct approach to “appeal to the people”. Mr. Jackson’s argument reaches out to all Georgia residents, (which is a large group of people), informing them about the cut backs on the HOPE scholarship and Pre-K program. Mr. Jackson is trying to win acceptance for his conclusion by playing on the crowd’s emotions. The argument proceeds to give examples of how this will bring a negative affect to the state. Georgia’s college students may consider attending out of state schools which would lower the college graduation rate for the state. Most students are more likely to obtain a job where they earn their degree. If this happens it will cause a decrease in the state’s economy. Georgia could remain at a low level for education and expenses for remedial work could still be high, since early childhood education has been reduced. Many students of modest or meager means will not be able to afford college tuition causing a lack of well educated people in the future. Below are the premises and the conclusion of this argument.
Premise 1: One risk of moving to a system where tuition award levels will be set each year is that Georgia’s best students might seek more predictable financial aid packages in other states.
Premise 2: The general Assembly can help in this regard by keeping budget cuts to the state’s colleges and universities as small as possible in coming fiscal years.
Premise 3: Lawmakers must remain mindful of the powerful advantages of early childhood education, starting young children on the right path reduces the expense of remedial work later on.
Conclusion: As the Gold Dome files down HOPE, legislators should keep our future as much in mind as the present.
I believe budget cuts should not be made towards the education of people who are trying to better themselves in life. Why should people be penalized for making an effort to improve themselves? In addition, in the long run the state will earn more money than what was spent sending people to school because the more money people make, the more they spend which means a surplus in Georgia’s economy. Not cutting back will also help boost Georgia’s education rate.
No comments:
Post a Comment