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Joe’s Commentary: Let’s Get Our Priorities Straight

posted on December 14 - 09:00 AM
By Josh - TexasISD.com
 

UPDATED: Fake news became an issue in the recent presidential election. If you read a lot of news publications, these fake articles and issues are fairly easy to identify. To those less informed, fake is not so easy to identify. This has been going on in Texas for some time. Yesterday, I commented on our state's leadership and the agendas of some of our state leaders. Today, I am reposting that simple message. However, I am adding the fact that much of our state level education agendas has originated with unproven ideas (fake issues) Many of the proposals are directed at non existent problems (fake issues). Educators have a difficult time defending their work in an environment they don’t identify with. Normally, we read these allegations that we do not identify with,(fake)  we feel bad, but go on our way with our commitment to educating children. That is apathy as John Wink, Blue Ridge Superintendent, describes it. He prescribes a four step solution in his blog post, The Greatest Enemy Against Public Education.

Yesterday’s Commentary below:

It is 8:30 AM at the TexasISD.com office and I have been reading articles for over 3 hours and have a good idea of what public school administrators will face today. If you only consider statements from the Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General we are concerned about, transgender bathrooms, a nurse's office door decoration and whether the state should pay for a few students to go to private schools (choice) - This is terrible when we have so many significant issues facing Texas students, their families and schools. This is not transparency. That starts with recognizing what impacts student learning in our public schools and then being clear about what the leadership is providing to make sure all students have world class educational opportunities as required by our constitution. - It makes me sad when I see these men playing politics with these minor issues when there is so much real work to be done and so many children that need assistance.

The real issues I saw today are:

  • The Texas tax system is inefficient and broken. The following statement speaks to this: “Over the past decade, the Texas Legislature has sopped up the benefits of rising property values to pad the state budget, forcing school districts to forgo cuts in property tax rates to make up the difference.” Link

  • We need to take a serious look at our immunization policies in Texas public Schools. “The first signs of a mumps outbreak were sick kids in Keene and Cleburne schools. The superintendent in Keene said the number of sick students in their schools has dropped to just three. They are hoping that it is a sign the mumps outbreak may be finally be contained but they’re still very cautious about keeping kids who might have symptoms out of school.” Link

  • A promise from Governor Abbott that does not solve any problems facing our schools today: “Abbott promises to sign the most pro-school choice law filed next session - Abbott even points to school choice as a fix for special ed crisis: “When I visited them about the possibility of school choice, you would see tears on the cheeks of moms . . .” Vouchers do not contribute to solving any of our problems. The special ed crisis was created by the state (maybe as a promotion for vouchers). Link

We educators need to overcome our apathy and get involved. - js-webmaster@texasisd.com