Education system of California.

I am a sophomore at Temple City, CA. However, before I begin to detail to you why our California education is actually superb, I will first introduce you to this site, answer your questions, and point out the many flaws in your opening argument. Although this argument may not be "conventional", I believe that a non-conventional opening argument is needed to counter another non-conventional argument. Forgive me. ----- Debate.org is primarily a debate site. As such, ranting is generally discouraged. Instead, try not to speak of yourself as much, in favor of speaking to your opponent (me in this case) and the audience at large. Try to formalize your arguments into clear ideas and paragraphs. Doing so will not only make your ideas come across better, but will help you "win" your debates. Also, this website as of yet, is not a forum. It is suggested that you use proper spelling and grammar, and that you do not ask the audience questions. Instead, answer the audience's questions through your debate. Why should they vote for you? Why is California's education "terrible"? Tell them. ----- You ask when the next elections will be held? A quick Google search will show that the California gubernatorial elections will be held on November 2, 2010. You ask what to ask your school officials? If your school is as bad as you describe, you should present your case to city hall. Never mind your school officials, they won't be able to help you. You ask whether or not your school is changing a D to equal ten to fifteen percent? I can not possibly answer this as I do not go to your school. However, I highly, highly doubt so. ----- My opponent's argument relies solely on personal opinion and anecdotal evidence. Though this, not only can the validity of her statements be brought into serious question, but they also provide nothing of California's education system as a whole. Even if her school is as bad as she describes, we must remember that there is always a lower end of a bell curve. She goes on by speculating by writing such things as, "I blame it on the Governer," and, "I don't want to fail life". While those are valid opinions, to pass them off as fact, you must provide evidence. Why is it our Governor's fault? Why will your school force you to "fail at life"? You bear the burden of proof that has yet to be seen. I would love to see you elaborate your arguments in the future, using less personal opinion and anecdotes. ----- California's education system is nothing but excellent. In fact, a so-named California Proposition 98, proposed in 1988, calls for an amazing 40% of our budget to be spent on education. More money is spent on education in California that almost every other state (we rank 5th) in the United States of America. As far as money goes, our education spending is nothing short of ridiculously good. As for K-12 education, our student-to-teacher ratio is also very good. According to the National Education Association, since 1995, our highest student-to-teacher ratio within these thirteen years was 24.1, with a mode of only 20. That's amazing! Our teachers are happy, and paid better than many other states as well. While the average teacher salary in the United States is $49026, California pays its teachers an average of $59825. That is $10799, or an astonishing 22% more than the nation's average. Our community college system is also great too. With a total of 109 community colleges that serve 2.9 million students at a time, it is bigger and more robust than most other states. Mind you, ANYONE can get into California's community colleges. So everyone basically gets a fair chance. Simply put, I do not see how Mellers23 can NOT admire California's education system. You, the audience, must vote for me thus far, because I have been the only debater to provide evidence for my position.