Texas Education

In this blog post Challenge Our Young Minds, Dinora makes a good argument about the bill that will stop teachers from passing every student. Currently, some school districts don’t permit teachers to give a failing grade. This means teachers can’t give a grade less than a 70. I agree with Dinora, the bill needs to be passed. It is ridiculous that some students can just float by in high school because their teacher can’t give them a failing grade. We need to raise the bar in Texas education no lower it. In the article Major challenges Facing Texas Education Today, there are several statistics proving that Texas needs help with our education. One of the statistics states that Texas is ranked 49 in verbal SAT scores. Obviously we need to do something about our education. I like this statement Dinora makes, “More than ever our country needs enlightened, challenged minds. Given our economic disasters, environmental issues, and energy shortages we cannot afford to allow our future generation to become status quo.” I couldn’t agree more with that statement. I’m pleased to know that legislators are doing something about this horrible no failing policy.

Rising Tuition Rates

Texas pushes students to attend college, but with the rising tuition rates they are pushing students away. Texas Universities have deregulated tuition rates. By deregulating tuition rates, the legislators covered themselves by making the tuition rates the universities problem. Therefore, making it seem like it is the universities fault for rising tuition, but it’s the Legislatures fault. Tuition at Texas Universities rose 58 percent between 2003, when schools were first allowed to set their own rates, and 2007. As a student it is hard to make ends meet with rising tuition and fees. Many students who would normally go straight to a four-year college or university are opting for community colleges for their first two years because the cost of attending those schools is considerably lower than a four-year college.
In an attempt to lesson college students’ financial load, the Texas Legislature will consider bills in January of next year that would freeze tuition rates and drop the sales tax on textbooks. We need an increase in federal and state funding of higher education, though the chances of receiving either might be very slim. Students and their family’s need the states help to keep the door open for college education. Freezing tuition will help, but at some point the state of Texas must pick up its share of college responsibility. This would help out students and not drive them away. The impact of higher tuition is reflected in the staggering debt some students accumulate by the time they receive their diplomas.

Texas Exorcism Case

In this article the author talks about how the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case of a woman who says that a forced traumatic exorcism was performed on her for hours. She says the exorcism left her physically bruised and emotionally scarred. The court “denies the claim of serious misconduct because it doesn’t wish to be entangled in a religious controversy.”Laura Schubert Pearson’s attorney filed an appeal arguing that Texas Supreme Court was wrong in tossing out her case against the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God in Colleyville. The author claims that the court is wrong for dismissing this case. He says “By voiding the judgment against Pleasant Glade, the Supreme Court majority made it more difficult to find the line between acceptable and unacceptable religious practice. If physically restraining someone against her will for hours isn’t cause for legal action, what is?” The author explains that she was abused and that “should not be excused because it occurred under the color of religion.” He also supports his claim by saying how the First Amendment doesn’t authorize abuse under religion’s name; it only guards religious liberty.
I completely agree with the author of this article. In my opinion, assault should not be protected by religious beliefs. That is no excuse for someone not to be held accountable for. This girl was only 17 at the time, not even an adult. What this church did was wrong and even more so what the court didn’t do was wrong.