Blog Assignment 8

Throughout the somewhat recent history of the United States of America, education has continued to be a hot debate topic. My classmate Rabi gave incredible insight into the foreign perception of the US public education system. One of the stereotypes of the American education system is that our colleges are inexpensive and easily accessible. When they traveled here to the US for college, they found out it was much more expensive than they thought and that many students drop out because they are unable to afford it. This is a great example of the increasingly popular social norm that everyone needs to go to college. In the United States, many people see college as the only way to secure a career so they put themselves in a large amount of debt just to attend. There needs to be more awareness in the public education system about alternative life paths. In my personal experience, I cannot recall a single time anyone in the public education system mentioning anything about trade schools. Trade schools are meant to train an individual to become more than proficient in a certain trade. They can then take their certification and training to get work in that field. Some people hold the stereotype that you can't make any money after trade school. This is false. There are several trades that you can earn well above the national average. In conclusion, the United States public education system promotes colleges as necessary but all options should be promoted.

Blog Assignment 7

There are very few good reasons that marijuana should not be made legal on the federal level in the United States. The positives of this action far outweigh the negatives. Marijuana legalization is an opportunity that we have missed before but we can't pass it up this time.
If the U.S. Government were to legalize marijuana, it would create another product for them to tax and it boosts the economy. The marijuana market is worth several billion dollars that is currently not being taxed because the trade is illegal. Taxing it would create a large revenue stream for the national government.
There are many things worse than marijuana that are already legal. For years, corner stores have been selling alcohol and cigarettes to local consumers. Both of these products are much more harmful than marijuana but are both legal. That means that there is no reason for it to be illegal since there are much worse things that are legal.