Texas Education--The Last Priority

How silly is it that one of the last priorities in our congress is over education? While that may be a little over dramatic, it is very close to the truth. I'm sure you wouldn't be able to find one congressman that would say education has dropped on the list of priorities, but our government has shown us differently. I go by actions, not words. And from what I consistently see, education is always put on the back burner.

For the second time this week I've read articles discussing new budget cuts and changes being made to funding some areas of our government. On both occasions, our Governor has opposed extra funding towards education. How awful. Day after day, parents send off their children to school expecting the best education provided to them. And ironically, day after day, some of Congress works against that idea. It's honestly irritating to read. It's sad to know our local government doesn't see all the value in education. Education is important simply because it's our future! It isn't an area that should be taken lightly specifically for that reason. A bad educational system could very well lead us down a dark path in the future. If there's not enough funding for the educational program, then the kids, parents, and most importantly teachers will begin to suffer. I'm not asking or trying to preach that education should be our number one; I'm exposing the principle of the situation. Our government is so wrapped up in their own opinions that one of the state's leading concerns is not on the list of priorities to make changes to. Texas is awful at seeing every situation from all sides. One side goes. With that mindset in our government officials, Texas government could be in trouble down the line.

While Congress may not see it as a huge deal, it is. Neglecting some areas of our government will only begin a domino effect and eventually cause us to be in more trouble financially. The whole idea of this commentary is to show how words are always words with our government. Behind the scenes, priorities are different and most of the public opinion doesn't matter anymore. Because of this, our educational system will continue to suffer.

My Response to "Let Me Speak" Education is the Key to Sucess

This has the potential to be perfect. I agree with the main points regarding education and the affects this new plan could place on our students. Texas already is known for one of the worst educational systems in the US. Compared to other states in our nation, Texas is the least challenging. Even I had thoughts that Texas education system was a complete joke, especially in high school. So, I agree that as a state we need to be more aware and eager to boost our curriculum to start challenging our kids. Many of our kids aren't successful in college because they are completely taken off guard when they step foot in a higher institution's class. With that being said, Texas needs a better plan for many reasons. And I think this commentary above missed a key reason to why Texas needs a better system.
If Texas' education system never grows and constantly is making changes to make it "easier" to graduate then as citizens and workers the economy won't grow. We will be continuously forcing people into college and the workforce unprepared. This will only hurt our system entirely. Down the line, it could affect new innovations and growth because people are dumbed down to Texas education standards. No one will be pushed to new levels because our minimum is easy for everyone. That could be our biggest mistake. Our curriculum shouldn't take a halt, it should continue to challenge every student to their highest potential!

http://letmespeak-vanessam.blogspot.com/2013/03/education-is-key-to-sucess.html?showComment=1365646479140

An Eye For An Eye

Little by little countries have diminished using capitol punishment against criminals. But, in Texas this is a different story. Texas is known for the death penalty, and actually is proud of it too. It's an eye for an eye here in Texas and even our Governor, Rick Perry, lets the nation know on his policy regarding this. Most of Texans agree with their Governor and support the issue to the full extent. But, there's a hand full of citizens (Of course, Democrats) that continuously show their criticism to this "barbaric" act.

Our Gov. Rick Perry is proud. Quite frankly, he should be. He is one of the few people left in this nation not afraid to handle situations the way they always should be. Governor Perry has authorized over 234 executions in his long office run here in the state. He has authorized more executions than any other Governor in the history of the United States. That's impressive. Why should criminals, rapists, murderers just be allowed to roam the halls of jail with a smile on their face? Why is that okay for Democrats and the other criticizers? Rick Perry is doing the state a favor. Still being able to sentence the death penalty is beneficial on many levels. This gives most families peace. A man who just slaughtered his entire family should be rewarded with TV, three meals a day, a place to sleep, and a job while hanging out in jail? No. Who in their right mind finds justice within that? Grieving families want to see justice served and be able to find peace again after losing a loved one. It's sickening to watch these criminals be allowed to live and receive more care than the victims. It's sickening to see them literally get away with murder. In actuality, we give criminals more attention than any other group of people in the nation and state. You switch the channel to the news and they have made headlines. You get on the Internet and they are all over the front page. You want to talk about barbaric? Seeing criminals become famous over insane criminal acts is barbaric! The people criticizing the death penalty haven't looked at it from the point of view if it were to personally affect them in any way. Some people disagree with the death penalty because they are afraid some people are wrongly accused. That, by itself, is understandable if this came up 20 years ago. But in today's world, DNA testing and other methods of modern crime scene science allow us to effectively eliminate almost any uncertainty regarding a person's guilt or innocence. Technology allows us to disregard that part of the argument. The death penalty isn't an impulse decision, our state is highly educated and would never irresponsibly use the death penalty in a wrongful manner.

In the end, Rick Perry is proud. Texas is pretty proud. So, everyone else should be as well. This decision is already made on a state by state basis and if the majority of your state is on board, it can't be all that bad of a policy, don't you think?

A Perfect Outlook to the U.S. Visa System

Jason Buch from The San Antonio Express News hit the nail on the head with his piece What's to stop a new immigrant influx? Lately, all over the news and in many peoples' every day lives the discussion about immigration and new laws regarding immigration have stirred up a lot of tension in our nation. Every single citizen has their own different opinion about the situation and how we should handle the problem. That alone is the reason for the long delays and little change to our system from the government. They themselves are stumped on how to fix the problems, and when they do have it figured out, tension between the two political parties cause debates that end up leading to no new changes. Jason Buch in his piece attacks this problem from all angles. That's the reason for choosing his commentary to critique.

"What's to stop a new immigrant influx?" actually needs more praise then critique. Jason Buch easily wanted his audience to be anyone who has interest in the immigration debates. He wasn't looking to talk to only republicans, or only democrats. He was ready to attack this topic from every side. Jason Buch laid it all out, and was very real and honest when writing his article. That definitely stuck out to me. He kept his piece honest, short, and reliable. Buch was educated on his topic, and could easily catch the attention of most news readers. Buch attacked his commentary article so confidently that I feel anyone who read his article would stop and make note that the man knows what he is talking about and is nowhere near being uneducated on the situation. More times than we want to believe, some commentary pieces are written with ignorance. This piece is not. I was intrigued and satisfied with Jason Buch's article. 

Immigration Reform Stirring Up More Drama

Recently, columnist writer Ricardo Pimento posted an editorial discussing the new drama and debate regarding immigration laws in Texas and in our nation. San Antonio Express News' How much border security is needed? looks deeply into the spending and repercussions of immigration specifically in Texas. Right away, a heavy liberal opinion takes over. This editorial takes a shot at republicans for being too hard on immigrants and the laws following the border. Although Ricardo obviously leans more left than right, he attempts to make his editorial appealing to any type of audience. Instantly, he tries to enhance his argument by saying the people in these states that are greatly affected by immigration in their day to day lives don't have a real problem with these illegals and green card immigrants. In our day to day lives, we act like "all bipartisan BFFS and stuff". As the discussion went on, in some statements I found myself agreeing with him, but overall his editorial and the credibility to his argument lacked a lot of substance.

Ricardo's only argument was that every day people are close to these immigrants and that should make our government more lenient laws against them. In my eyes, that isn't strong enough to fully get his point across and accurately prove it to his audience and readers. From what I saw throughout the newspaper site, he is just a columnist with not much of a political background to be stirring up this argument in the first place. His credibility is very weak which honestly loses my interest in the debate. I don't feel that you can get a audience interested and convinced when you might have the same amount of knowledge as the people you are trying to "inform".

On top of his credibility, his argument was also very weak as well. His main argument was that we are spending too much money on an area of our budget that is entirely unnecessary. He backs up this argument by stating there is already too much border security as it is and it isn't right to continue to waste money on furthering the control. This argument stirs up much debate but Ricardo doesn't really go into depth on the situation. He gives us the main debate and basic facts and tries to make his point that way. He doesn't line up a list of recent facts for nor against the idea at all. With that being said, I don't believe he impressed or caught the attention of his audience by this weak editorial.

While I agree that some of our spending is becoming somewhat unnecessary and too strong, Ricardo and his editorial also didn't try to sway me completely nor provide me enough information to believe his argument in the first place .

Finally, We See the Light!

Since 2008, our economy locally and nationally has struggled this fight against unemployment rates. Citizens have watched this number continue to increase, and cause major downfall for the people of our nation. We have all seen the repercussions of this rise of unemployment rates causing new college graduates to sit at home waiting for job opportunities, many foreclosures, and millions of people finding themselves laid off with no job just to name a few negative impacts. Little by little, unemployment gave the citizens of our nation and state less hope day by day of new change and improvement. 

Reading around through local press an article concerning unemployment changes caught my eye, of course. The Daily Texan, a local newspaper ran by UT students, recently released an article discussing how Texas is seeing major changes in our unemployment rates. In their article published January 25th, 2013, they state that records from The Texas Commission Workforce show unemployment rates falling to their lowest percentages since 2008 and our economic downfall. The article did also state that Austin and its surrounding areas are actually seeing a small increase in unemployment rates but say it is due to seasonal changes and nothing quite substantial enough to see many repercussions. Last, the article discusses how many more opportunities will come of this new percentage of unemployment rates for all the new college students. The Texas Commission Workforce shows a lot of faith in college students finding work in their area of degree right out of college as the years pass. This is great news for everyone! For years citizens have lost so much hope for their future and it's nice to finally see the light at the end of this long dark tunnel our nation and state has dealt with.

Overall, The Daily Texan article is intriguing to read for the students who are worried about not finding jobs after getting their degree, and stressed to the point they are considering changing their major because of it. Honestly, for anyone it is hopeful to see a major decrease in unemployment rates. It inspires hope for all our citizens in Texas. I believe this short, yet essential article of information is necessary to read.

Click the article link below to read:

The Daily Texan Texas Workforce Commission finds unemployment rates falling