What I did not Know

First I want to thank my colleague for enlightening me.  I always knew there was poverty in Texas, but I never understood the magnitude of the problem.  That was until I read Not in Texas.  We’re Perfect!  Through my colleague I learned a lot about the poverty issue in Texas.  Obviously the most eye opening thing was the amount of children living in poverty.

My colleague talked about this topic in hopes of making it issue more public.  I completely agree that Texas needs to make this issue on of the main topics up for discussion.  What is more important than the children of Texas?  We need our government to lead the charge in this issue.  Organizations like the Capital Area Food Bank and other programs can only help so many people.  We need more government to start funding programs and organizations in order to combat this problem.  I don’t know if we can end poverty, but we need to do something.  I share my colleague’s hope that our government will take this issue on, but it needs to be sooner rather than later.

College is Expensive

Money is on everyone’s mind.  We are amid a recession that is forcing the Texas government to cut spending in almost every area of the budget.  Some of the people who are really struggling are student trying to pay for their college tuition.  Higher education has always cost a pretty penny, but colleges have always given out scholarships to help out their students.  Now however, with less state funding going toward these colleges the tuition is rising and the scholarships are becoming scarce.  UT Arlington’s President however, has promised that UT Arlington won’t increase tuition, but he is one of the few.  It is my hope that more will follow his example.

Next year I hope to attend The University of Texas at Austin, and I think I can get in.  The issue is finding the money to go there.  My parents are not going to be able to pay for any of my tuition.  I will probably have to live at home because I can see no way to afford moving out.   I’ll have to buy my books, and then if the tuition goes up I am going to be in some serious trouble.

                Attending college can be a very expensive ordeal.  I already think college is too expensive.  I know that by the time I am done with school I am going to be in a huge amount of debt.  Even though I do not plan on attending UT Arlington it is reassuring to know that some colleges are not raising tuition.  It gives me hope that maybe more colleges will follow their example.  I guess all I can do now is wait for this recession to end so the state can start increasing its funding again.

New Standards

                Education is a big issue in America right now, and an even bigger one in Texas.  Our students have always been below average, and our student struggle to graduate.  My classmate Rosibel has addressed this issue on her blog Texans Ideology.  She talks about Texas implementing the new standard standardized test called State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).

                I agree with her that it will hurt our graduation rates.  This test is going to be harder than the TAKS test, but it will challenge our students to work that much harder in school.  I went to a public high school, and I was amazed at how easy the TAKs test was.  It was not even a challenge to pass it.  We need a new test because right now our standards are just simply too low.

                Obviously this test will not magically turn education around in Texas, but I feel it is putting us on the right track.  I agree with my classmate that we need to have better funding for our school, but I don’t think the test is over the top.  We need higher standards, and this will hopefully give them to us.  I hope along with my classmate that this test will indeed make our students smarter, but we will just have to wait and see.

Politicians Changing Tactics

It should not be news to anyone that public education in Texas is slacking.  We are ranked #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%). We leave hardly any money in our budget that will go toward education.  We are ranked #6 in the nation in student growth, and yet we are the only state in the nation to cut average per pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2005.  These facts can be found at Window on State Government.  Granted these facts are a little dated, but meaning behind them is still true.  Texas public education sucks and we need someone to do something about it.

That is why when I saw an article titled Some Texas GOP Candidates to Make Education a Priority I got very excited.  I have been amazed at how few candidates running for office seem to address the issue of public education in Texas.  Yes, most of them recognize it as a problem, but very few make it a central part of their campaign, and even fewer propose a solution.  Now however seems as though some politicians are finally realizing parents actually care about their children’s education.

The problem with Texas education is the lack of funding.  I know people do not like to give away their money, the only way we will be able to greatly improve K12 education is to increase funding. We are not going to be able to continue cutting the budget for education and expect the problem to go away. 

Although the there are only four people who are running a campaign based around education it is better than nothing.  My hope is that other politicians around Texas will see how important this issue is, and that it cannot be ignored any longer.  It is time for someone to step up and fix our flawed system.

Issues with Perry

On the Burnt Orange report, there was a post titled Rick Perry on the Issues: Stimulus Package, by Ben Sherman.  This editorial talks about the hypocrisy in Rick Perry's statements.  Perry has led Americans to believe that he has not accepted any money from the stimulus package, and talks about how bad the stimulus package is for the country.  He in fact has received 17 billion dollars from it, and has used to create jobs and plug up budget deficits.

The audience that this editorial appeals to is the liberal readers.  The Democrats are the ones that are going to be interested in Rick Perry’s shortcomings, and scandals.  I am sure Ben Sherman would like Republicans to see this editorial as well, in hopes that it will change their view on Rick Perry, but let’s face it Republicans love Rick Perry.  It will take more than one scandal to change how they feel about Perry.

Another issue with this editorial is the author’s credibility.  Ben Sherman is just a writer for a blog, which does not have as much weight behind it as a writer for a state’s news paper.  It is hard to make people listen to you, when no one knows who you are.  Ben however does help himself out by linking his work to the Austin American Statesman article where he got his information.  This helps back up his claim, and strengthens his credibility.

I personally agree with the author, and I think his argument is sound.  He comes on a little strong by flat out calling Rick Perry a “liar,” but his augment is still valid.  He calls Perry a hypocrite and backs it up by showing how Perry’s words and actions contrast each other.  Finally he shows his evidence through the article by the Austin American Statesmen, which backs up all of his claims.  What the author lacks in credibility and writing skills, he makes up for in passion.  Anyone who reads this article can tell how strongly the writer feels about this subject, which in the end I think helps his augment.

A Lack of Funding

                Deborah Cannon is an editoril writer for the Austin American Statesmen.  On Wednesday September 28, he addressed the issue of funding for Texas public education in his editorial Politics aside, school funding a real plight.  He makes the argument that the funding for the Texas public educatonal system needs a very big overhaul.  He says if it is not done soon, then Texas will fall even farther behind the other states.  I completely agree will Mr. Cannon, and I think he made a solid arguemt.
                The author talk’s about how some school districts are filing a lawsuit against the state of Texas.  He goes into detail about how tragic the lack of funding for public education is in Texas.   The author’s audience is middle to lower class Texans, who cannot afford to send their kids to private school.  He appeals to them because it is their kids that are directly affected by the legislature’s decisions. 
               Proper funding for public education has been lacking for the past few years.  With even more funding cuts being made in the last session, public education is going to be hurting in the next year.  With such low funding it is hard for schools to accomedate all of their students needs.  This leads to higher drop out rates and lower performances on standerdized tests.  The author talked about how the drop out rate is high in Texas, and he backed it up with facts that say, “the graduation rate could be in the neighborhood of 70 percent to an even poorer neighborhood of 60 percent.”  He uses logic to show that with less funding for education, the dropout rate tends to be higher.
               Overall the author makes an effective argument about how Texas needs a new educational funding plan.  He gives facts to back his statements up, and knows his audience.  He appeals to them by showing how this issue directly affects them, and their children.

The Future of Education

           Public education is always a major topic in politics, and is especially important in Texas.  Overall Texas has lower SAT and standardized test scores than most other states.  This is in large part due to the lack of funding for our public schools system.  Our governor, Rick Perry has made many cuts in the funding for public education.  The most recent of which is addressed in The Texas Tribune, by Morgan Smith.  The House and Senate have made a “historic reduction of $4 billion in financing and an additional $1.4 billion cut.”  The was in part due to governor Perry’s urges to make greater cuts, in order to make up for the budget shortfall in the coming years.

           Public education is of up most importance because it determines how prepared the next generation of adults will be for the world.  It will be up to these kids to solve the world’s problems in the future.  That is why people need to know how much funding is actually given to our schools, and how much is being taken away.