<p>I have been appreciating this thread for the honesty of the posts, and for many of the posts’ nuanced views on a difficult topic. I would like to remark that, similar to calimami, I am most concerned about the problems in CA k-12 schools, especially our schools in middle class to very low-income communities. The poor quality of education impacts the students’ options for college and for life. In California, the majority of our students are now “minority” students (or at least that is the case in many communities).</p>
<p>Not all of us can live in communities in which you pay 1 million+ dollars for a fixer-upper in order to attend a primo school-district, not all of us can afford private schools, not all of us have kids who meet the demographics of specialized charter schools (be they music talent or at-risk status), or meet the criteria for scholarships to primary/secondary schools. So, we make due with what is available in our public school districts.</p>
<p>In my community, I see the disparity that calimami describes. Someone I know through work has kids who attend a tippy-top public in a different community. (Spouse inherited home…) His kids are under undue stress due to an educational and peer environment with expectations that everyone can manage 12 or more APs, high-powered extracurriculars, and the cost of college. Attendance at a UC is almost seen as an underachievement, even Cal or UCLA. However, students and parents are respected, and he feels his kids are getting a great, free education.</p>
<p>My kids’ high school, in contrast, has provided an extremely uneven educational experience, though perhaps less external pressure. The best students there go to UCs; very few apply to private schools. Many students spurn achievement as a goal, and fail to take advantage of the support that is offered, limited though it may be. So, there are internalized values to an anti-intellectual American sub-culture that does not serve these students well. My older d, who does attend a tippy-top private (costs us what a UC would, due to fin. aid), stated upon starting that she was overjoyed finally to be in an environment in which she would not be classified as a Geek for wanting to learn and excel. However, she is doing well at college, so she must have learned something at that poorly-rated high-school.</p>
<p>So, I do not begrudge the 1% who are undocumented, get into a UC and attend, or those who attend the CCs and CSUs. Many of those students have overcome incredible odds (both in terms of external support and in terms of maintaining a positive attitude toward learning) to be where they are. </p>
<p>I do think the larger issue relates to providing a solid educational experience in K-12 for students from a wide range of backgrounds and inherent talents. How do we do this well, given the lack of funding? Due to that lack of funding, people begin to have a very zero-sum frame of mind about their kids’ educational options. I can understand this, and struggle with it myself.</p>
<p>(And, yes, illegal immigration is an important larger, federal issue, not only in the US… it is a global issue, as many other countries have parallel struggles. But those issues are a bit outside of the purview of the college discussion.)</p>