Michael's Coursework

Week 2 - Aug 26:

These images all relate by how much money college costs, what types of aid are available, what resources students have to get help receiving aid (financial aid office, tips on how to pay for college) and then of course the picture of 'Opportunity Knocks' asking the question, is there equal opportunity for aid?

 Week 4 - Sep 9:

In my profile draft I source several pieces of information from the US department of education's website.  I primarily use the information sourced from this site as direct quotes with the intent of informing the reader what the mission of the ED is and to use later statistics to paint a picture of the ED falling short of their mission.  I could have used this source in paraphrasing and were my position or intent different I could have used it to report their position and the progress they report making on their mission.

Week 6 - Sep 23:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a married white male. I have no children and both my wife and I work.  We both also attend college.  We own our own home and aside from our mortgage and an auto loan we have no debt.  One might say that we are economically contributing to society.  I must say though that there are three times a year when the above statements regarding our economic security are not entirely true.  Those times are when our tuition comes do.

You see, while we can afford to live on our own we cannot afford to take on the exorbitant cost of higher education in addition to providing.  Yet through your infinite wisdom we do not qualify for government assistance with our educations.

Yet my colleague who is a single mother of two, owns her own home, and receives the same income as my wife and I combined receives full tuition pell grants. I find this situation to be unacceptable.

In short it would appear that because my wife and I have not yet had children we are being discriminated against.  Or because we choose, by actually working, to not use other government assistance programs.  The one we do an interest in, the ONE that provides for a better future for us and our nation is the one that YOU say we can't have.

I am not with out reason, I do not expect to receive full tuition grants when I am capable of financing some of it myself but I find it absurd that some are given free rides while I am forced to pay mine back with interest.

I would welcome to opportunity to discuss other alternatives that might better serve the population as a whole at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Michael Scott Simmons

Week 8 - Oct 7 Part 1:

Revision plan for Position Draft: I received feedback that my position seemed rushed and all at the end of the paper.  This feedback is something that I felt as well when I completed my first draft.  I plan to revisit the structure of the position and determine points earlier to introduce or at least reference my position.  I think also that the position could benefit from a stronger opening thesis.  I have also considered working in some visuals with in the text to break things up in a way and provide meaningful analytic visuals.

Week 10 - Oct 21:

            Meet Malcom.  Mal, as we’ll call him for short, is in his mid-twenties, a Caucasian male living in a suburban town near the urban city in which he attends school and works.  Mal comes from a family where both parents worked and they were fairly well off.  Mal has a sense of accomplishment to put himself through school but he works full time to support his new family and struggles to find ways to pay his tuition.

            Now we meet Omar.  Omar is the same age as Mal but of middle-eastern descent. His parents are also very well off but Omar is single and has chosen not to work.  Omar has decided to live off his parents for the first year and use government funding to pay his remaining tuition and living expenses.

            Omar after his first year in college has partied, played and occasionally studied getting a C average GPA.  The year ends and Omar applies for his financial aid package from FASFA.  Having no reported income from the previous year and being old enough to be considered an independent student Omar is awarded a Pell grant for full tuition plus housing and expenses.  Omar learns that minimal effort provides maximum benefits and his behavior continues.

            In the meantime Mal has been working full time, studying in his ‘spare time’ and is maintaining an A- average.  He supports his family and does what he can to stay out of debt while paying his tuition.  Yearend arrives and Mal applies for financial aid through FASFA just as Omar has.  Several days later Mal receives a call from the financial aid office of his school informing him that he has not been awarded anything because he makes too much money but that they would like to discuss other options such as student loans with him.  Having hear of the nightmare that student loans can create for a person’s future Mal is not interested in borrowing money.  He continues barely scraping up his tuition.

            Four years later we see Omar walking across the stage receiving his degree in leisure studies with a C average. He is set to go out into society and provide nothing for anybody, content to merely attract and consume whatever benefit he can with minimal effort.  That same year that Omar graduates Mal is still in classes just two semesters short of being able to graduate with a degree in marketing.  Mal has several internships he has applied for and is looking forward to entering his field and contributing to society.

            At the end of Mal’s education he looks back and notices that because he could not afford to go full time and certain parties were unwilling to help he spent significantly more on his education by going “part-time” and taking care of his family and contributing to society.  Mal learns that hard work pays off and feels good about being able to put himself through school but is frustrated that there was no help when a little help would have gone so far.

Week 12 - Nov 4:

School is expensive.

Financial Aid is out there

to help students learn.

School is expensive.

Change to award scholarships

will help students learn.

 Week 14 - Nov 18:

I viewed the world mapper page for tertiary education spending growth located here.

My first impression was surprise at how massive the US is and how small Europe is.  I suppose I assumed that the inflated costs of education were a global issue.  Then I read this bit from the site, "Increases in spending per person in North America and Western Europe are over 4 times those in the next highest regions..."  I am not exactly sure how this would implicate culture but I find the results intriguing.