Hooray for Teenage Paleness!

Reading Michael Vilaythong’s commentary, I must say I completely agree with him and the House. Legislation had to be passed to keep tanners under the age of 16 from indoor tanning, proof of the ridiculous levels of superficiality Texans have reached. Shouldn’t 16 year olds stress over their first loves or obtaining driver’s licenses rather than adding color to their acne-infested faces? Though it seems a bit silly to ask teens for parental permission or doctor’s notes in order to gain access to a tanning bed, maybe it will reduce young teen visitation. Because the younger teens begin at the tanning beds, the threat of skin cancer increases. Decreasing the amount of tanning sessions will decrease the chances of getting skin cancer. 

Just as Michael said, the arguments against this should not be merited at all. Protecting the overall health of Texans is being attempted, if the teenage paleness is the price, oh well! I’m naturally tan and twenty, so I really don’t care!  

Lack of Transfers cause Concern

Texas universities are concerned about lowered numbers of transfers of students attending community colleges. Many students of community colleges are opting to obtain their associates degrees at their respective junior colleges rather than transferring to a 4 year college. And while states have developed statewide programs to ease student transition from two year to four-year schools, the U.S. Department of Education has reported that only 26 percent of U.S. community college students transfer to four-year institutions. A campaign has been unveiled, Transfer 101, which is designed to boost the number of transfers to 4 year universities. The University of Texas System, Texas A&M University, and Texas Association of Community Colleges are supporting this campaign. The campaign is designed to encourage more community college students to pursue baccalaureate degrees. Government and education leaders have set a statewide goal of increasing the number of university graduates going into the workforce. 

 

Re: Mandating recess in Texas public schools

Because the topic is simple, there isn't much to dissect. This argument was concise and well done. Danielle's argument for mandating recess in Texas public schools is simple yet logical. I'd have to say I agree completely. Requiring schools to include at least twenty minutes of recreation into the school day should not be questioned. Like Danielle said, recess is an important component to a child's development of social skills; if children are confined indoors, always in the classroom, will greatly decrease opportunities for social interaction with fellow classmates. Yes, even if recess were eliminated from the school day, young students would still be able to interact with classmates.... but recess allows a merge of all students from other classes, allowing children to explore larger groups of peers. Children bore easily, recess is an alleviation of their boredom, a chance to release the energy gathered from sitting down all day.

Texas education to be without the influence of the board?

Four Texas senators have suggested legislation which would strip the State Board of Education of its authority over curriculum and textbooks. The said senators claim the state board has become to politicized and not focusing on the needs of the schoolchildren. These board members have raised eyebrows with some approvals. The board last month approved a science curriculum which introduces creationist objections to evolution's explanation of the origin and progression of life forms. Other parts of the curriculum were carefully worded to raise doubts about global warming and the big-bang theory of how the universe began. When the public's attention is not focused on the science standards, other issues are being scrutinized. Last year, the board rejected a reading curriculum that teachers had spent nearly three years drafting. In its place, the board approved a document that a few members hastily assembled just hours before the vote.

The solution, some say, is to strip the board of its authority to set curricula and approve textbooks. The power would then be transferred to the state education agency, a legislative board or the commissioner of education.

It does seem the children are not longer the focus here- board members are eager to advocate their beliefs through their approvals as members of the Texas Board of Education. But it is best to leave the state's educational issues to the people elected by Texans. If these board members are stripped of their authority, that power will be given to a group of persons who were not elected to make such decisions! It is uncomfortable to think of tranferring the power to decide what will be taught to some uknown faces. While the current board members have made some questionable decisions, it is best to leave the familiar faces the power to decide what the children of Texas should be learning and reading. No, this legislation should not be passed.

Simply Gossip

Race, class, and misconduct at a Dallas traffic stop speaks of the media's attempt to "turn the issue into a racial conflict" in the Ryan Moats detainment. THe NFL player was "rushing his family to the hospital in Dallas to be with his wife's mother who they'd been told was near death." Because of the traffic stop, the family was not with the woman when she died. A dashcam records the officer as being a "bully and a jerk."
The blogger disagrees with the media, believing the white officer's behavior towards the black football player is not racial. Instead he believes the officer is simply displaying "police misconduct." He concludes with questioning why "this became a news story."
I have an answer. Had the detainee been any other African American from Dallas, man or woman, I do not think the media would have been "compelled [to] turn the issue into racial conflict." But the officer detained Ryan Moats (personally, I've never heard of this man), an NFL player- an instant celebrity just because of his occupation. This incident became a news story to satisfy the public's fascination with the lives of celebrities (no matter how little fame he/she may possess). A death was involved also; media reports are normally morbid these days.
Race did not compel the media; police misconduct did not compel the media. Death and gossip compelled the Dallas media.

Put Austin charter schools in public realm is the blatant title of a Stateman's editorial. A convincing agruement is launched in the name of charter schools and declining public schools. Both would benefit; "locat[ed] on campuses of under-enrolled public schools, charter schools would gain what they need most: modern classrooms, labs and facilities" and "public schools, especially those in academic trouble that need an infusion of new ideas, higher standards and innovative teachers. " According to this editorial, high-performing charter school students can raise the success of failing publics schools. Charter school students of KIPP Austin possess the grades students of Pearce High School do not have while Pearce H.S. has an ideal learning enivronment wasted by under-performing students. The editorial says combining the two institutions of learning will "raise Pearce's grade and remove the stigma associated with chronic failures. aise Pearce's grade and remove the stigma associated with chronic failures" and "KIPP kids would benefit from better learning tools and facilities at Pearce." This combination will end the competition for students and allows the focus to be on the students, their grades and their sucess.
I believe with the decline of eduation as a whole, anything that can be done to salvage failing schools SHOULD be done. I agree with this editorialm, though I would have liked to know what kind of money this combination will cost the state of Texas. The Texas Charter Schools Association is bringing the proposal to the Legislature and I'm sure tax-payers will be asked for some contribution to the venture. Eduacational success shouldn't have a price limit though. If students are doing well, they deserve a learning enivronment that reflects their success... and students who are struggling must be saved, we shouldn't watch them drown.

How government stimulus plan will affect you

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/US_President_And_White_House_Advisers/Stimulus_Stakes_Who_Gets_What.html


Obama's stimulus plan will have an affect on every American, directly or indirectly. The Statesman article is subdivided into taxes, health insurance, infrastructure, energy, schools, national debt, environment, police, higher education, and the poor. Each subject educates the readers a little about the affects of the stimulus. Every citizen touched by American government, politics, or economics, need to familiarize themselves with the stimulus. As an uninterested Texan, I found the Stateman article very helpful.