Messed Up Texas Schools

Recently I was reading in the opinion section of the San Antonio Express and if you are a student in Texas you just might want to read this. The article is entitled Remedial Classes Cost Students Time, Money and is written by Gloria Padilla. Mrs. Padilla talks about a recent lawsuit settlement involving Bates Technical College and 16 former students. After graduation from the vocational college the students found that they had been ill prepared for their field and blamed the school. Despite having a degree for their line of work, either they were not being hired or could not keep their jobs because of an inferior education. The students complained about the teachers, saying that it was their fault for having not trained them properly.

After laying down the facts of the case, Padilla asks why did the students wait a whole year before complaining. She believes that some responsibility lies with Bates Technical College, but most of it rests with the students and their parents. She goes on to explain that “Mere attendance in a classroom and the ability to pass standardized tests do not produce a quality education.” Long story short, she wonders why so many students need to take remedial classes and who gets the blame for an unqualified education. She thinks that more blame should be placed on the individual and their families.

For the most part I agree with her. Why did the students never protest their teacher’s lack of attendance? Why did they stay with the school? Obviously they should have known better right? Maybe they did not. Maybe, they had never gone to college before and thought that teachers were allowed to skip class. Perhaps they did not know what to do. In any case a teacher should never be so negligent and a student should never take their education so lightly. Both are to blame for their failures. I know that if I was not learning anything in a class at ACC, I would drop it. I would especially contact the dean if I thought the teacher was being irresponsible. Why was this not resolved before a lawsuit? That is the point Padilla is trying to make. Something should be done about this. Schools are more willing to pass students to look better on paper than to bother giving them the skills they need and the students along with their parents accept it without concern. Now that is messed up.

City Code and Free Speech

There is an article I believe is worth reading, posted on the Austin American Statesman webpage. It is about moving billboards and dead fetuses. Strange, I know. Apparently a group called Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a non-profit organization thought it would show Austin dead fetuses as a result of an abortion. Needless to say there were many complaints about these trucks containing graphic images which many were not too fond of seeing while they ate breakfast. There were several complaints called in to the City of Austin and Austin Police Department that morning regarding the graphic nature of the moving billboards. Several say it violates city code, but others agree it is under the protection of the first amendment for free speech, no matter how disturbing it may be. There are other reasons why the City of Austin allowed such a parade, but I’ll let you find the answers by reading the article. This article is definitely worth reading if not for the sheer awe of city code being twisted for the right-wiged, then for a story to tell your buddies.