Evolving Education

A recent post on the Made in Texas blog discusses one of the most prominent hurdles in fundamental education, teaching intelligent design or evolution.  There is no doubt that the Texas education system is in the lime light now days, and for all the wrong reasons it seems.  Recent budget cuts have proven that keeping businesses in Texas is more important that the future of our children. This could prove fatal in the near future; the same jobs that come to Texas because of our supply of highly skilled and intelligent workers may soon leave because of a failing education system. Now, the information that children are being taught is being screened before it ever reaches a classroom.  I believe that the strengths and flaws of both creationism and intelligent design, however unscientific, should be taught. With the current budget cuts, students are being deprived of enough, I do not believe that opposing ideas should also be excluded. I think that if both theories are taught, it will teach children from an early age to depend on their own reasoning and logic, not an outdated and politically pushed textbook or the teacher reading from it. I think that it is sad that schooling has come down to one or the other, not both.

Being one of the more conservative states, the lines between church and state are often blurred, and legally so. Separation of church and state is a commonly used phrase that never actually appears in the Constitution. It was first used by Thomas Jefferson in 1802, in a letter written to a Baptist Parish where he said that a “wall of separation” had been established to protect the church from any government oppression. This was a phrase used to exclusively establish a protective barrier for the church against an oppressive government, today it is used the other way around; to keep the church out of the affairs of the state.  Either way, where ever the theories comes from, I think it is terrible that one source, one government has the ultimate judgment as to what children will be taught. That just teaches children to be dependent on the provider of the information, and less inquisitive. Isn’t that what Thomas Jefferson was trying to avoid, one omnipresent force squashing opposing views? 

Schools Built On A Crumbling Foundation

Texas would be running in a deficit for the next biennial if it were not for some difficult decisions and budget cuts made this past legislative session. Funding for education was one of the hardest hit areas, and with the closing of local schools it is a constant reminder of the reality of the cut. With the school year coming around quickly, the children are about to pay for the decisions made.  Although education funding was increased by 1.2% from the 2008-2010 budget cycle, it falls short of what is necessary.  The only other area of funding that had a smaller increase was business and economic development.  Offset by steady growth due to a tax friendly environment in Texas, this area is less dependent on the funds it receives.  Education in Texas however is still floundering. One of the most effective ways to ease the burden is to do something that is taboo in Texas politics, increase taxes. In 2006, the school finance reforms were passed and effectively lowered local tax rates. However, the money was still needed, so the state picked up the tab from other revenue sources. This strategy worked fine when the economy was growing, but with the economic downturn in 2008 this strategy began to show signs of weakness. Now, something needs to change if public education in Texas is ever going to get a passing grade.

One solution is to raise taxes, which is highly unlikely and a deadly move in Texas politics. Another way is to eliminate the archaic system of union representation. The education system is controlled mainly by unions, which effectively give teachers job security regardless of their performance. If a school is failing, it is closed or reformed, but if a teacher is failing they have job security so they stay until they are ready to leave.  Talk about a flawed system. Education needs to be a meritocracy not an oligarchy of union supporters. If teachers had to be successful in order to have job security, it would be a much more effective system than just having to work for 10 years to receive tenure. It would also ensure that those people who want to be teachers are doing it for the right reasons and are dedicated to working hard and seeing results.  Isn’t that the lesson schools should be teaching children; that hard work pays off?  It is time that education becomes a privatized industry, one that must remain competitive to stay alive. After all isn’t that one of the main reasons Texas sailed through the recession; competing successfully to attract businesses and being innovative. It’s time Texas schools looked more like the state itself; competitive, strong, and successful.  It’s time we invested in the future, in the children that make up the future, and rid the system of its outdated and crippling ways.

Texas, A Not So Open Road

In the commentary "Minority drivers in Austin searched more than twice as often as whites" from the blog Grits for Breakfast, Scott Henson reviews the 2010 annual report for Austin PD traffic stops and searches. This report by the Austin Police Monitor shows shocking statistics for the searches of minority groups when compared to Whites. Overall, minority groups were not targeted when being pulled over, but more so after being stopped. African Americans were pulled over a total of 28,949 times, or 12% of the time, which is about equal to this demographics representation in the Austin population. However, African Americans were searched after being pulled over 4,356 times, which comes out to 22% of all searches, far more than their make up in population. Comparatively, Whites were pulled over 55% of the time, accounting for 127,661 stops in total. Of these 127,661 stops, only 6,724 searches took place, about 34% of the total. Overall, Whites were pulled over at a higher percentage than their representation in the population, which is about 50%, but were searched far less at 34%. According to the initial report African Americans are 2.71 times as likely to be searched when compared to Whites, and Hispanics are 2.37 times as likely to be searched.

This data suggests that African Americans and Hispanics are searched more often for a specific reason, maybe probable cause is found in the initial stop. But when the "hit" rate is evaluated, there is no real reason for these differences in search rates. A hit is defined as finding contraband during a search. Of the 4,356 searches of African American's cars, a hit was found only 32% of the time. Compared to the hit rate of whites, which is 27% of searches, this data suggests that Whites should be  considered just as much as African Americans when being searched. Even though African Americans were almost 3 times as likely to be searched, Whites actually yielded an equal percentage of hits. This suggests that Whites could actually yield more hits, but are slipping under the radar. 

So the question then is what is the reason for this disproportionate amount of searches for minorities? Is there really a justifiable reason? Probably not, as Henson suggests these ratios are "difficult to explain with a race-neutral interpretation." This report suggests that the roads are still ridden with discrimination, and it has become engrained in the process. There is no fix all to this problem, the Austin PD tried to reform the process by requiring written consent for searches at traffic stops but it has had little effect on the disproportionate amount of searches. So is there any hope for this problem, or has it become a way of doing business in Austin?

Texas, Still a Sanctuary

“Build a 40-foot fence, and you'll create a market for 45-foot ladders.” That is the subject of this Statesman editorial article, not to build fences, but to put in place barriers to make illegal immigration much more difficult. The fact of the matter is that immigration today is growing and shows few signs of slowing down. The idea that a fence will stop illegal immigration is absurd, but a legal fence, that may have helped slow the growth. 

That was the idea behind the sanctuary cities bill, which failed to pass through regular session but was brought back to life for the special session, only to die again. It would have provided law enforcement all of the legal tools necessary to ask about a person’s immigration status, and could have slowed illegal immigration. At first glance this looks like a step in the right direction; it would reduce or at least add more checkpoints in the process to keeping our borders secure. But with a deeper look, this bill had no solid ground. This bill ultimately encouraged racial profiling and inequality, two of the values that America does not pride itself on. Granted, this bill would have applied to every person within the Texas borders, but honestly, no law enforcement agent will waste their time or taxpayer dollars to pull over a big maroon pick-up truck with “Saw ‘em off” stickers on the back. So in order to enforce the proposed bill, people who appear to be illegal aliens must be the target of any action, and that would require racial profiling and unequal treatment. One place where this bill could have been equally applied is when registering for or renewing a Texas driver’s license. If the process were to ask every person for their proof of citizenship in order to receive or renew a license, it would be a much better implementation of the law. Plus it would have eliminated room for any discrimination if that was the process for every person who walked through the door, regardless of what they looked like.

The point is, whether it is legally or illegally, immigrants do not come to this country for something that we can keep securely inside of our borders. As the author said, they come to America for hope of a better life, which can never be outlawed nor kept inside of any border.

Ultimately this bill provided a lot of room for human judgment and discretion, both of which could not have been kept in tight enough control to pass this bill as a fair and ethical piece of legislation. This law had the capability to have a tremendous impact on the pace of immigration, but human involvement in the implementation of this bill ultimately led to its death. 


Direct link to article: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/legislature-takes-on-sticky-issue-1527547.html

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Between the speculation surrounding Governor Perry and a possible presidential bid and this case, it seems that all eyes are on Texas right now. This article is about an execution of a Mexican national on death row for the rape and murder of a 16 year old girl in 1994. Humberto Leal Garcia moved to the US when he was just a todler, and has lived in America ever since. In 1994 he was accused and convicted of the murder of Adria Sauceda, when he was just 19 years old. Last Thursday, July 7, 2011 he was executed.  This case is noteworthy because he was not allowed to contact the Mexican consulate; even though the Vienna Convention of 1963 allows for foreign nationals like Liel to have access to their appropriate consulate. Attempts to stop the execution failed. President Obama and former President George W. Bush tried to stop the execution to no avail. The Supreme Court ruled against a stay of execution with a 5-4 decision.


I think this is an important article to read because it shows just how much of an impact local decisions have, sometimes globally. State and local government often loses its importance because it is so close to home, but this article shows that events taking place locally do have an impact. The decision made with this execution is felt around the world, and could have huge impacts on foreign travelers. Texas is in the spotlight right now, and this is certainly an eventful time to be at the center of it all here in Austin.

To read this article click here.