Whats Wrong With Prisons

The problem with prisons is that they are ineffective. People are more concerned with punishing offenders that they don’t see the big picture. If we don’t help them, we’re not helping ourselves either. The number of repeat offenders is astronomical and is a drain on the tax payers of America. I think that the families of those incarcerated are put through more than the actual inmate. Their is no rehabilitation. No one is teaching these inmates how to be better, productive, functioning members of society. Their most definitely needs to be a reform. I think that the idea of prison, parol, then free, is incorrect. I also believe that lengthening sentences isn’t going to help anyone either. It just becomes an even bigger drain on the American people. If I’m going to pay taxes on the prison system, I had better be getting something out of it. I want to see rehabilitated criminals that I feel safe working alongside, sending my kids to school with, and living around. As it stands now criminals are more threatening when they get out then before they went in. We have, basically, created a club house for criminals. It’s become a breeding ground. Criminals are abused, only furthering their reluctance to conform and reinforcing their hatred for the law and authority. They are abandoned at time of release. We take everything from them and then send them on their way with no life skills and no lesson learned. I think that the sentence served for first time offenders of small crimes should spend ten days in prison as a scare tactic. This would be enough time to disrupt their lives, make an impact, scare them, but not enough time for them to fully adapt to the lifestyle and realize that they can find a way to function. I think even after this, their should be mandatory counseling or rehab regardless of the infraction. We should try to nip it in the but from the very beginning. If we make it alot of work from the get go, people will be turned off by how inconvenient it is as well as scared. For second offenses and larger crimes I believe that their should be a sentencing period where the first 2/3 of your time in prison should be pure incarceration with counseling and AA/NA/AM meetings. It should be the bare minimum and the prisoners should be broken in a military style structure. Bootcamp as it were. I think we should break their spirit, but not with abuse, and only with the intention of mentally exhausting them and breaking down the walls they have built up so that they learn structure, how to follow direction, and how to work together. They may even develop some self confidence and a sense of pride. The last 1/3 should be dedicated to rehabilitation with a minimum of 2 years. So no matter what, after your first offense, the process will take no less than 3 years (1 in prison, 2 in rehab). The rehab is designed to be less than the incarceration as a sort of uplifting, more than half way point. This starts the rehab process with positivity. Each step should be earned. I think that while they are in this phase they should be attending some type of schooling that insures all inmates are at least reading and writing at a graduating high school level. Their should be job training and workshops that are mandatory, inmates should learn skills for at least three different job fields and be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of those skills before release. Part of the rehab should be parent training. Whether or not they have kids. If they aren’t parents yet, they most likely will reproduce and should be made to understand the full impact they have or will have on their children. For those who’s children have been taken from them or those who have lost custody, this should play a positive role in allowing for them to regain some rights to their children. The violent, abusive, and unprofessional prison guards are a problem. They all need to be retrained. Like marines coming back from deployment have to go through “welcome back” training to reinforce civilizations values and norms, so should prison guards. It is a hard job to be able to separate personal feelings from professionalism of the job, but if this is the job you choose, you should make it a point to be able to do it. What if you went to a racist doctor? Would it be ok for a doctor who hates blacks to murder one during an operation because of their personal feelings? No. Of corse not. So it should not be acceptable for guards to verbally or physically abuse inmates. You signed up for a hard job that takes alot of understanding, patience, and self control. No excuses. The reason I think rehab should wait until after the first 2/3rds of the sentence is because I want the first part of imprisonment should be miserable and hard. Doing this allows for the new experience of rehab to be appreciated. Even welcomed. After a few years of boot camp style living with no freedoms or extra curricular activities, taking classes will seem like a reward. It will absolutely have to be earned. At the end of the first 2/3rds of incarceration, if the inmate has not earned the privilege to move on to rehab, it will extend the sentence of incarceration until the inmate shows he/she deserves the reward of rehabilitation. The incarceration can be extended up till the last 2 years of a sentence, which will always be reserved for rehab as it is the minimum. Rehab is not the same as parol. Rehab takes place within the prison, however, rewards such as a supervised trip home for the day can be considered as rewards and also reminders   

Keeping the Poor Poor, Problem or Necessity?

1.) American School Systems are designed to protect the wealthy and keep the poor, poor by providing a ground breaking education to those who can afford it and forcing the children in inner city schools and ghettos to attend a child care where their education is limited. This is a problem because every child deserves as much of an equal opportunity as can be provided to them. Public schools should be paid extra attention to, because it is the schools job to prepare the kids for the world. It is the schools job to know how to get these kids to college, get them grants, and teach them to apply for scholarships. Unfortunately, the way it is set up now, the parents hold the cards for their children. Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities, writes, “...the system rests in the initiative of the parents. The poorest parents are often the product of an inferior education, allowing for a lack of the information access and skills of navigation in an often hostile and intimidating situation to channel their children to better schools, obtain applications...” (Kozal 60). Through the years we’ve come to understand that women are just as capable of being just as great and powerful as a man. We now understand that blacks are no different from whites. What we also know is that, given the same educational start, rich children and poor children could be one large step equally set up for success. Sadly, this threat to those already in power offends their mindset of superiority. Believing they are meant to be better than everyone else, and unconcerned with the effects their segregated education will have on the future of our nations youth, we continue to fluff the ego of the trust fund babies and sacrifice millions of children to be janitors and phone survey operators when they could have been musicians or doctors. We are raised being told that we can be whatever we want, but the truth is that we can be whatever our parents can afford to turn us into. Sure, there are student loans, after school jobs, and scholarships to aid the financial foundation our parents originally have laid down for us, but even all that cannot compete with fortune 500 families with there summers in Europe and their private tutors. Wealthy kids started building their resumes the day their grandfather took over as CEO and started building connections that would lead to their child and grandchild’s future job. No one should be born into a choiceless life where the doors of opportunity are not only closed to them but are kept hidden. The wealthy, high-class child will be born with a significant advantage in that their upbringing, family connections, and social status will all be pushing them in the direction of success. 

2.) American School Systems are designed to protect the wealthy and keep the poor, poor to ensure there be a working class. Those in power ignore the issue of millions of children falling through the cracks, dropping out of school and just plain failing. In the movie Waiting for Superman, a man discusses how it was his goal to get through school and start work repairing the school systems. He admitted that when he got there the system was just this unclimbable wall. No one would admit failure. When schools are labeled as “failure factories” and “black holes” how can you ignore the poor quality of education and call it acceptable? Is it because the people in charge of these public schools don’t mind watching students suffer as long as their own children are safely tucked away in their well funded, fast track to university of a private college prep school. Schools should not be set up to pluck children from their homes and label them as not worth the chance to be whatever they want to become. Who thought themselves entitled to ensure there be a working class? No matter what you do someone will always have to come in first place and someone will have to be last. What is the point in competition if we just draw straws to see who wins and who looses. If we want to be a strong country we would encourage scholastic competition. Their is only room for so many jobs, so many companies.  Let heart, drive, will power, passion, and hard work earn you a place at a well paid job in your field of choice. Even those set up for success will choose to fail, but at least it is their choice. Their will still be students who do not want to work hard, who do not care for overwhelming success and are just fine with getting by. Their should be an overwhelming amount of choices. American school systems are like an ant colony. Born with a job, destined to be one thing and nothing else. The worker ants are born worker ants and the scavengers are born scavengers and thats all they know.

3.) American School Systems protect the wealthy and keep the poor, poor, however I do not think it is designed to do so. I agree it is unfortunate that some people are born into luxury and others have to scrape and save to climb their way up the ladder of society, however, it is completely possible for those with a low start to have a high ending. How did the rich and powerful become the rich and powerful? They took it. They saw a way up and they went after it. Their is more than one way to the top. Everyone is born with gifts. Some more useful than others. The world is not a fair place and it is an individuals responsibility to take control of their own life. Some people will have to work harder than others, but I truly believe that they will be better for it. The perspective that develops in the person who wore the skin off their hands and knees climbing to the top will be completely different than the person who was born into their position. What people don’t like to hear is that the world needs both understandings. We were not all meant to be the same. Yes, it would be nice if everyone was dealt the same hand of cards, but someone is always going to play their hand better than the others. If we all fell victim to our circumstances then their would be no success stories. If you want better for yourself, go find it. If you want to be a lawyer, make it happen. Too many people cry injustice and jump on welfare and expect the government to take care of them since they were cheated out of a better life because of what color they are or where they are from. Too many people give up on themselves, on their kids, and on the future. Those who will never stop fighting will be the ones who succeed. They will be one ones who earned it. 

My K&N West Race at Infinion

I thought I'd share a picture of my race car. I think its cool haha.

This is me in the 88 car road racing at Infinion Raceway

Heres a picture of me in my suit so you believe me 

:)

I miss him :'(

A Little About Me

My name is Jessica Brunelli. I'm 20 years old and I live in Hayward, CA. I am a free spirit with an open heart and a passion for life. I find everything I don't understand interesting. I am an only child so my parents and I are very close. I have raced cars since I was 9 years old and this has allowed me to travel all over.

 I went to 3 grade schools, 3 high schools (one private, one online homeschooling, and one public), and Chabot is the second college I have attended. Usually people go from Jr. College to University...well I actually did my first college semester at University on North Carolina Charlotte.

I moved out at 16 years old to North Carolina because I was accepted to NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Program and Race Team. I moved back when I was 19 and currently live with my two best friends.

I work at Olive Garden on Hisperian...so feel free to come by and see me.

I love my kitty...his name is Little Man. So, of corse, he is a large, fat, black cat.

I have a serious love for cultural studies, philosophy, and theology. I LOVE listening to different ideas, opinions, religious views, and having discussions with people who are passionate and knowledgeable about what they are talking about. OH and cooking...I LOVE COOKING. It's the Italian in me.

My friends and I are always getting into some sort of shenanigans. We each have very big personalities that tend to dominate a room, and yet were nothing alike. This is a serious case of opposites attract.

My boyfriend is a Marine. He deployed earlier this month and wont be back for 8-10 months. So I sometimes sit at home in sadness as you can imagine. But, my friends always know something to do that becomes great therapy.

Im a busy bee with a brain that never turns off. If you want to talk I'm your girl. Believe me I always have something to say. :)

Why is it important? What are the consequences?

It is important to take time to learn from peers because if you don’t seek knowledge from others lives, you remain ignorant and miss out on all the world has to offer. Lives become confined to the small boxes we live in and are stuck in the way we were raised. No one would know all that the world has to offer. Speaking to the people walking right beside you through life opens your eyes  and broadens your horizons. Knowledge is power. If we are to elect leaders and raise children then we want those people of authority to be educated in all matters. We don’t want the blind leading the blind. If we don’t pay respect to those who came before us and learn from the past, then the past is bound to repeat its self. 

Speaking up in class sets you up for success. Many people stay within there comfort zones, but it is important to live life on the edge, to push boundaries, because that is where the magic happens. The world is getting more and more competitive. Speaking up in class allows for more refined speaking skills and gives students more pride in their ideas when presenting thoughts. They can think deeper, apply it to a career setting, and get ahead in the business world. Students cannot be left to be shy or passive. They should be pushed right out of there comfort zone which does nothing but hinder them and hold them back. Rewarding students by acting on concerns and allowing participation and encouragement inspires further effort. 

Students are our future. It has been proven that children learn a lot from watching. Abused children are more likely to abuse there own children. The longer the disdain for school continues to be passed down through the generations the more students will fall through the cracks. The students of today become the teachers of tomorrow. If students are only met with teachers who don’t care, they are taught their opinions don’t matter and then they don’t try. They grow up being easily embarrassed  and struggling to take pride in their jobs. They expect to collect a pay check and have no hope for their future job. Nothing new develops. Their are no new discoveries. It’s a constant up hill battle where everyone is set up for failure unless they can dig themselves out of the hole the school system dug them into.  

What in education is out of date like the wristwatch, "a single function device?"

What in education is out of date like the wristwatch, "a single function device?"

I think that the learning videos as teaching materials are almost aways out of date. I find that in my classes I am frequently stuck watching material from the 70’s. I spend the whole time laughing at the  fashion and hair styles rather than paying attention to the material. A lot of what is talked about doesn’t apply any more to the current circumstances of the world modern day. I think if teachers sought out more recent videos or  maybe had the class make new ones, It would strike the students in a different way and become more “multi-functional”. 

I also think that the concept of teacher talking and student listening is out dated. I think that students voice should be more utilized. This plays into the idea of students making there own videos. When they participate they learn more and I think teachers should talk less and listen more. More practice. More involvement. No one likes to be preached at.