LEONARD JAMES MARTIN

ANALYSIS:

Leonard James Martin is a Democrat running for the position of California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was born on August 10, 1963 and is now a retired worker. Before running for this position, Martin was a prop maker working for Motion Picture Industry. He has had much experience as a stagehand for the company as well as working as a General Contractor and Carpenter throughout his work history. In regards to his education, Leonard James Martin graduated in 1981 from Saugus High school and from the College of the Canyons community college afterwards. Once in the position of Public Instruction, Martin aims for a reformed education system that would benefit the students in terms of what they learn and the environment of the schools they learn in. Going into government serves as an ideal transitioning from his work experience in order for him to successfully implement his goals for education.

POSITION AND PLATFORM:

As a candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Martin plans on targeting more funding towards public schools throughout California. With so many budget cuts and many teachers being laid off, Martin sees how much these schools are in need of reform in order to provide for the students. Especially in poor and minority filled areas are these budget cuts and lack of funding and support occurring. In order to target and remedy this downfall in education, Martin wants to establish in equal rate of funding of all schools around the state instead of basing it solely on property tax. It is unfair that the wealthy are offered more opportunities at a good education while the poor must struggle with maintaining their schools and their education system. Instead of spending more money on building and rebuilding state prisons, that money should also be redirected towards further funding schools to ensure better quality of education. In regards to the health and safety of schools all across the state, Martin also hopes to require all K-12 schools to take action towards becoming a cleaner school for both students and staff to benefit from. All classrooms and bathrooms should be as clean as possible in order to prevent any sicknesses. Students not only should be ensured a clean campus but a healthy diet as well. Martin also strongly opposes No Child Left Behind. With so much emphasis on testing and getting high test scores, it forces students and faculty to do whatever they can to meet those requirements. Oftentimes, students who are unable to understand the necessary material to pass standardized tests are forced to copy and cheat just to pass. This is lowering the standards of the students and education rather than heightening it. Schools are turning into testing sites rather than continuing to be places of critical thinking and environments of learning. Students should be supported in pursuing bilingual studies so that they can be more prepared to become global citizens and more able to take part in world affairs. Martin lastly is in favor of yearly conferences to check up on the status of schools. This would ensure that students and schools stay on track and that any problematic issues that are arising can be targeted and solved efficiently.

SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:

The professors at Cal Poly Pomona, particularly Ralph E. Shaffer, support and endorse Leonard James Martinfor Public Instruction, including many teachers a part of United Teacher LA. Aside from appealing to the Democratic Party, Martin receives a lot of endorsement from other parties as well, such as the Peace and Freedom Party and the Socialist Party of America as well, represented by Stewart Alexander. Programs that support Martin include Carol Long who is Director of Carlotta’s Housing & Mentoring ServiceLearning Together. Overall, many teachers and people who look for a stronger educational system in California support and trust Martin’s goals and endeavors for reform. Conservative Republicans would most likely oppose Martin’s views of getting rid of No Child Left Behind in California as well.

LYDIA GUTIERREZ

ANALYSIS:

Lydia Gutierrez is a Non-partisan candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction. For the past 20 years, Gutierrez has been in the classroom. She has been an elementary school and a middle school teacher. Apart from being a teacher, she has also been a Department Accounting Clerk at UCLA and Administrator/Acting Supervisor Cost Estimating at Hughes Aircraft. As to her education, she has a Masters in multi-Cultural Bilingual Education from CSU Dominguez Hills and her Bachelors in liberal arts from Pepperdine University. Apart from having a professional careers, Gutierrez has political experience. In 2008 she was the candidate for California State Senate, District 25. Once appointed as Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lydia Gutierrez plans to put children first by using her ABS’s: Achieve Academic Excellence, Building Fiscal Responsibility, and Cultivating Success after Graduation.

POSITION AND PLATFORM:

As a candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lydia Gutierrez plans to do a lot with her power. She wants to give vocational training an active role in graduation requirements. Along with this, she will ensure that tax dollars are used effectively to educate and not increase the bureaucracy and attempt to make schools safe from gangs and sexual predators. Gutierrez also wants to prioritize core academic courses with qualified teachers and extend class room time and also provide accurate textbooks and secure parents an active role in their child’s success. She believes that by doing so, she will be able to help children get the motivation and help they need to succeed in life after graduation. One bill that Gutierrez wants to pass is bill AB2446 which will bring back Vocational Training as a high school graduation requirement and not an elective.

SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:

Lydia Gutierrez has the support and endorsements from many groups such as National Latino Republican Coalition, Los Angeles County Educator Deryth Daspit, and Republican Los Angeles County Central Committee. There are several more groups and counsel members that support Lydia Gutierrez and her campaign to be the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

TOM TORLAKSON

ANALYSIS:

Tom Torlakson is a Democrat running in the 2010 election for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Torlakson was born in Daly City on July 19, 1949 and he ais a Vietnam veteran, serving in Guam, Vietnam being a Merchant Marine. He later moved on to his education and attended UC Berkeley as a History major. He has been an activist for fitness with help of his high school cross country team, then moving forward to being a fitness coach and starting “State Fitness Month” where fitness is the main focus and a healthier lifestyle. He also have a teaching background, being a teacher and taking part in the CA Federation of Teachers and CA Teachers Association.

POSITION AND PLATFORM:

Running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson has many ideas on what to implement on the state of California, looking back to all that he has done and connecting it all together. Torlakson plans to fund California schools to increase from our rank 47 out of 50 states of funding. Torlakson would also apply more security in schools to motivate parents to take their children to public schools that are close to their neighborhood. In this twenty-first century, Torlakson wants to ensure that the younger generations are up to speed with technology, having enough funding for learning and using a large amount of funding to modernize public schools. Coming from a fitness and healthy lifestyle background, Tom Torlakson plans to give better health care to the children, more fitness classes for public schools and granting better food to fit their healthy lifestyles. Not only does Tom Torlakson want to impact the lives of the younger generations and public schools but he demands that parents get more involved with their children and with the school system promoting parents to volunteer more at school and have more events where parents come together with their children. Tom Torlakson wants California to have the best high education and he plans to do so by rebuilding the education system.

SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:

Tom Torlakson has many endorsers the main contributors being teachers, organizations around the state, organizations, state legislatures, city councilmen and officers (firefighters and policemen). There are many San Diego local groups and endorsers as well as many California contributors that are glad to be behind Tom Torlakson. For exact endorsers, please click endorsers.

OPINIONS

DENISE:
Tom Torlakson is a great candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction coming from the kind of background that he is from. He has had personal experience being a teacher and coming from the perspective of a teacher, seeing the differences that need to be made involving the children, the families and the environment of the public school. Without a doubt I would personally choose Tom Torlakson in 2010’s ballot from his ideas of making children fit and ensuring that the 21st century technology would go to the public schools, making the Internet and communications accessible to the younger generations. The youth of this generation are in need of a better education full with safety, parent involvement and a move to a healthier lifestyle, one that is being provided by Tom Torlakson.Tom Torlakson FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION!

THOMAS:
Although Leonard Martin may not specify what experience in politics or government he might have had prior to running on the congressional level, he has very strong points and goals to reform the educational system in America. Even without any experience, he has passion and the networking needed to implement his plans. I agree with him in that the education that kids receive in California today is severely flawed. Barely enough money is flowing in and the budget cuts are only making it worse. Education is the most important thing that can contribute to our future. There is proof with the schools with very low test scores and schools with teachers who fail to satisfy their students with a strong education. The priorities in regards to where this state’s money is going should be changed. Too much money is going to the war and prisons when we should be funding the children of the future, and doing so would motivate them to become future leaders. I support Martin’s points and I would not mind voting for him. His points are very valid and he has a very wide range of support from the outside. He has very democratic views which relate to those of my own. I do believe that children are our future and we should not waste any amount of money or time in doing so. Education is key and the performance of students is not reflected by numbers and scores alone.

JESSENIA:
Lydia Gutierrez has many ideas and plans that she wants to fulfill if she wins. She has a lot of experiences in a professional environment and seems to know what goes on inside a school. The only thing that would stop me from voting for her is the fact that she has not been in a high school environment, therefore she does not know how a high school may work. I agree with her when she says that she wants to make schools safer, but kind of disagree with her education reform bill on bringing back vocational training as a graduation requirement. there is not enough funding for education and I don’t think that the State of California can afford to bring it back. There are some ideas that I do agree with. She plans on on implementing her goals as soon as the 2011-2012 school year and that is something tat we need. Someone who is going to do what she says as soon as she can. I believe that she can do something good if she wins this position. She has feasible goals and the potential to fulfill them.