Changes in History books

While reading my classmates’ blogs, I found one that caught my attention. The blog is by Palmira Ramirez, and it talks about the possible dramatic changes that are going to happen to the Texas textbooks over the topics of the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Civil Rights Movement. One line that I like and concur with is when Palmira says “I believe that we all need history in order to learn from our past and implement what we learn towards the future.” I like this because, like Palmira, I believe that everyone needs to learn history in order to take part in society. History is really important because without it we will not appreciate what we have today. Palmira is concerned with this topic because she is going to school to be a teacher and she is a parent who cares about our education system.

Fighting Drugs

While surfing the internet I found an article on statesman website about how to fight drug cartels in Mexico and Texas. The author Mckenzie, is an Austin-based journalist from New Zealand with an interest in drugs and border issues. Mckenzie begins his article talking about the interview that he had with the US ambassador to Mexico when Carlos Pascual the ambassador came to Austin. What have caught my attention in this article is this interview. Mckenzie says that while interviewing Pascual he asked him the following: how serious are the Obama’s and Calderon administration in fighting drugs? Pascual gave a weak response when he said that his administration are serious and are going to stop all this drug distribution along the border.
Mexico has serious problems because 28,000 people have lost their lives. they need to find a solution as soon as possible. Mckenzie also says that the drug violence is escalating because of the increasing pressures on the drug market. The cartels have taken over Mexico and soon will try to dominate states closest to the border of Mexico. This line shocks me because we are four hours in away from Mexico and it makes me wonder how long are we are going to be safe? Mckenzie ends this article with interesting thought, he says that the Obama and Calderon administration can choose to continue their militaristic approach against drugs , but that it will mean more deaths in the near future. I think that both administrations ought to do something and fast, because we can soon can have similar violence in Texas.

Cutting down The Education Budgeting

While reading my classmates’ blogs, I found one that caught my attention. The blog is by Rebecca Isla, and it talks about the possible budget cut in education in future years. What first caught my attention is the way she explained and gave some background about the Texas economy. She says,“ A possible $18 billion cut is what Texas is facing... the reality is that they are going to cut the budget in some departments like education.” Rebecca also says that it would affect teachers in the state of Texas, and some professor would be laid off or would be given 40 kids to teach. I found this idea very important because I know that with 40 kids in one classroom it would be impossible to give individual attention. It can also create great problems.
　
Rebecca also talks about teachers not getting enough technology in the classroom to teach kids effectively and that this is a big concern for citizens. I concur with this idea because I know that technology has become a big part of our lives nowadays and if we don’t teach our kids to use it, that can stop them from success in their future. Rebecca makes a great argument about why the Texas government should not cut the education budget.

Adjusting Grades for Failing Students

While reading the Dallas news, one article caught my attention. This article talks about  Irvin  school district changing their grading system to help students pass their classes. What makes me  most concerned about this issue is that the Irving distric school has decided to eliminate homework for high school students. Grades will be only be focused on exams, essays and projects, homework will not be count.  State senate representative Jane Nelson had an opinion about this issue she said that a student generally learns by doing homework, and if the school district has not decided to count it, Nelson is not surprised that the students grades are not good.

I think that a student should be given a grade based on their homework because in this way the professor can see where the students have difficulty. Homework has been the most important part of my education path. I know right know that this is because I did what I was supposed to do. What also concerns is that teachers are forced to give students who did not pass exams or were caught cheating a second chance of retaking the exam.  What worried me was that students caught cheating were given a second chance. A student who has disrespected the system should not get a second opportunity.  In my opinion government should focus a little bit more on education.  State Government should have a sayin on Texas education and also about the grading system and requirements for a student to be pass their courses.

The use of technology in the Texas legislatures

I read a well done commentary blog on the Capital Annex website about the issue of twittering and texting in the Texas legislature’s open meetings. The author, Vince leibowitz, makes excellent points about the potential bad results of using technologies in open meetings. Leibowitz says, “The tools of the internet and smart phones can lead to quorum and open meeting violations.” I really like this line because I concur with leibowitz; Texas legislatures should not been texting or tweeting while they are working even with members of the legislation. Open meetings are meetings where citizens are permitted to come and watch what their legislators are doing, but if the legislators text with each other or with outsiders, people who go and see the open meeting would not have access to that information. Leibowitz knows that there has to be a measure, but he knows that if legislators or councilmen’s phone are examined for text messages, it would cause a big problem with their privacy.

 Leibowitz says that the solution will be that text messaging should be banned while legislators are in open meetings, and if they want to communicate with each other, to make them pass notes the old fashion way. The other solution that Leibowitz gives is to have an open record for each legislator and have each text message sent to the government body and be subject to regulation. Leibowitz ends his commentary by saying that he doubts that the legislature will go with one of the two solutions he has provided, and that he suspect that probably Texas legislators will do something more of their nature, a more bizarre solution.

Leibowitz, the author of this commentary blog, gives great solutions on the issue of the use of technology while legislators are in open meetings. He makes the reader become more interested by making his commentary humorous. Leibowitz’s credibility is good because he gives the readers examples of what other states have done with this issue and what can be done with this issue here in Texas.

The Dream Act

I read a well done editorial on statesman website about the Dream Act issue. The author, Alberta Phillips, begins by defining what the Dream Act is about. Phillips says that the Dream Act is a permit for the children of illegal immigrants who are also illegal immigrants to earn their citizenship through military service or a two year college degree. Phillips points out that there are 258,000 illegal immigrants living in Texas who would benefit under the Dream Act.  One thing that I like the most about this editorial is when Phillips says, “The premise of the legislation is noble. Its aimed at children who bear no blame or responsibilities in the circumstances that brought them to the U.S. Children who are American by virtually every measure- culture, education, except legal status.” I like this line because it sounds human, and it explains the reality of this situation. These children who are now adults came to the U.S. because their parents made the decision of bringing them to the U.S. so they could have better opportunities for education.  These children would not have a job opportunity after graduating from college without the Dream Act. Phillips ends her editorial by making a statement and saying that to make the dream act more acceptable for the public; students should be required to finish a two year degree plus two years of public service. I totally do not agree with this line because I think that is creating more barriers for every child who is illegally in this country. Obligating them to graduate from high school and graduate from college or serve in the military should be enough.

 Alberta Phillips, the author of this editorial, makes really good arguments in favor of the dream act except for her last line; requiring students who graduated from college plus two years of public service. The author’s target audience is people who are opposed to the Dream Act.

A generously One million dollars

I read an article in the Texas Tribune about Oprah Winfrey generously giving one million dollars to YES Prep Charter School in Houston, Texas. In this article, they begin by pointing out that the one million of dollars would be presented as a gift on her afternoon show after a documentary film about the struggle of low income parents trying to get their kids into the nation’s highest performing-charter schools. YES Prep Charter School, which runs eight charter school in Houston, Texas is also famous for having the best academic achievements in Texas. Chris Barbic, the Chief executive Officer of YES Prep Charter School, says that with the  one million gift from Oprah Winfrey, more kids who have been on the waiting list will be closer to getting a first class college preparatory education. This article is great for everyone to read because it explains how people like Oprah Winfrey help our kids get closer to their academic goals.